A Leaf on the Wind
by HowardD
Summary: After years as a drifter roaming the galaxy, Naruto gets hired onto the freelance crew of the Raikiri, under Captain Kakashi Hatake. He'll do his best to fit into the tight knit crew, all the while trying not to draw attention to himself. But the more missions they do, the more things don't add up about the newest member of the crew. Naruto meets Star Wars/Firefly
1. First Day on the Job

**I had this idea floating around my head for a while now, so I decided I should actually write it out and see where it goes. If you've ever wondered what it would be like if the Naruto universe was set in a galaxy like Star Wars, or Firefly, then hopefully you'll like this story! Enjoy**

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Trying to multitask following the directions on a map, and navigate the crowded passages of the busy spaceport was shaping up to be a much more challenging task than Naruto had expected. Scrunching up his face, he ran a hand through his golden hair as he took another look at the data pad in front of him.

"What? If that's the Northern wing, then how could that-" his muttering to himself went largely unnoticed by the busy crowds around him, all too preoccupied with their own business.

He looked up from his pad to look around at the nearby building and stalls, trying to get his bearings. What he saw was less than helpful. Tahoko was a largely unimportant port, though a fair amount of trade did take place there, ensuring that it was always bustling with people. That doesn't mean it was bustling with reputable people. All manner of characters where doing business, from slimy looking parts salesmen, to cheap weapons dealers, and everything in between. People sold fabrics beside junk dealers, all doing whatever it took to bring home enough money to pay for dinner.

Humans could be seen mixed in with innumerable other races, from the tall, monkey-like Sarutobi, to the giant Akimichi. Naruto thought he even saw a Nara, but that could have just been the way a shadow had been cast by a loose piece of cloth caught by the wind.

The port was an open-air one, with no roof, or even any walls really. The stalls of the vendors where assembled mostly from metal frames, with cloth sections serving to shelter the owners from the harsh sun. While not a desert planet, it could definitely be called arid, and working exposed all day would be the height of foolishness.

None of this, however, helped Naruto. The spaceport was really just a spaceport by name, the reality is that is was at best a handful of landing bays, scattered in among the city of tents made by people looking to buy and sell wares. Located several kilometres outside of the nearest settlement, there were little to no civilians going about their daily life. Everyone had a purpose for being there, and this made it a very noisy, and confusing place to be, especially for Naruto. His upbringing didn't involve many crowded markets.

Finally giving up on his own navigating abilities, he tried asking several nearby business owners for help.

"Excuse me! Could you point me to Docking Bay 4c?"

The first four people he asked didn't even dignify him with more than a grunt of dismissal. He clearly wasn't a customer, so they had no interest in a conversation. Eventually a passerby was able to giving him a general direction however, so with a quick but enthusiastic 'thank you', Naruto took off. His knapsack slung over his shoulder, he ducked in and out of the crowd, trying to look for a more telling mark of his destination.

Before he could find anything definite, he heard his transponder buzz. Reaching into one of the numerous pockets in his black pants, he pulled out the decrepit machine and glanced at the message.

Through the many cracks on the device's old screen, the words he saw were not encouraging. 'We leave in 30 minutes, with or without you.'

"Damn it!"

With a newfound urgency, he picked up the pace. You see, for the first time in his life, he had a job. He had been asking around the captains and pilots that passed through the port about any available positions on crews for the past two weeks, with no luck. Just when he was considering using what little remaining money he had to buy passage off this rock and try his luck elsewhere, he heard of someone looking for an extra hand on his ship. A cargo pilot had passed on how to contact a ship's captain who had lost a crewman and was looking for a replacement.

They hadn't met face to face yet, but they had arranged to meet at dock 4c for Naruto to join the crew, on a trial basis. He would tag along for a job or two, and if he couldn't keep up, then they'd drop him off at the nearest spaceport. He wasn't exactly sure about what kind of work he'd be doing yet, but he didn't care; Naruto did not intent to mess this up.

Just as the panic of the ensuing deadline was settling in, he caught sight of a signpost with an arrow, and the number 4c. Relief washed over him as he turned to follow the sign, now in view of the docking bay. Each bay in Tahoko was essentially a large, circular wall, two stories high, with no ceiling. A solid pad in the centre acted as the landing pad, while the edges of the ring were often used to stack crates of cargo that had been unloaded, or were to be loaded. The sandstone circle had an obvious set of metal doors that shot open at Naruto's approach.

As he stepped into the bay, he immediately started looking for his (hopefully) future employer. Instead, he ended up looking at the ship in the centre of the building.

The Raikiri was unlike any ship model that Naruto was familiar with (which admittedly wasn't many), both in design and condition. Most of the ships seen around here are bulky, mass produced cargo carriers, decades old and hardly holding together. The Raikiri though, was a whole different machine. In shape, it was similar to an arrowhead, though with a more sleek build. It was a long, thin, semi-flat vessel, that formed an aerodynamic point at the front, followed by a long, thin 'neck' that gradually widened out, until the back third of the ship gave way to two 'wings' of sorts, making for a blade-like edge that ran along both sides of the ship. The ship was silver in colour, with bright blue lightning-bolt patterns running across the hull, that all seemed to originate from the front point of the ship. The cockpit could be seen close to the front, visible only by the narrow strip of clear plating for the crew to see out of. The boarding ramp folded down from the belly of the ship, near the back, while the front was supported by two landing struts that would retract upon takeoff. All in all, it looked roughly 70 meters long. Big enough to fit a small crew comfortably, with a decent sized cargo area and engine room.

Unable to keep an excited smile off his face, he resumed his search for the captain. At the base of the landing ramp, he could see two people loading crates of supplies. About to approach them, he stopped short at a voice from behind him.

"Quite the ship, isn't she?"

Whirling around to meet the new voice, Naruto caught sight of a tall man with silver hair, sticking straight into the air. He wore a typical spacefarers outfit, with a sturdy navy blue jacket over a pair of black pants, and fingerless gloves on each hand. He wasn't looking at Naruto, but rather, the ship. A mask covered the bottom half of his face, and a headband covered his left eye, but from the little exposed bit that Naruto could see, the man seemed to have a content smile on his face.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah-wait!" Naruto sputtered out, caught off guard by the sudden appearance. Between the mostly empty hangar, and the way the man was looking at the ship, Naruto took a stab in the dark. "Captain Hatake?"

Moving his gaze from the ship, he turned his head to look at the blond young man in front of him. "Yes that's me, but you can call me Kakashi if you like." Extending his gloved hand, he concluded, "You must be Naruto."

Seeing the signal, Naruto likewise reached forward and grasped the offered appendage in a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you Captain! What can I do to help?"

Giving the boy a friendly smile, Kakashi gestured for Naruto to follow him as he headed towards the Raikiri's boarding ramp. "For now, you can help carry those crates up the ramp, and stack them in the cargo hold."

Nodding eagerly at the task, Naruto quickly headed over to the two crew members that he could see already working at the job. Before he could get a word in edgewise however, the dark haired boy addressed him without taking his eyes off his work.

"Move those four crates up the ramp and to the left rookie, we want to be off this rock in fifteen minutes."

The dispassionate voice made Naruto hesitate. He had been going to introduce himself first, but given that reaction, he supposed it could wait for once they had taken off. He didn't want to push his luck and turn a disinterested shipmate into an outright hostile workmate, after all. So, with a quick nod of his head, he got to work.

The crates were heavy, heavier than he had expected. Fortunately, Naruto was no slouch when it came to brute strength, so with a few good heaves, all the supplies were loaded, and they were ready for take off. The heavy lifting in the hot sun did, however, prompt Naruto to take off his dark orange, long sleeved land-speeder jacket, that had black trim along the zipper, and tie it around his waist, leaving only a black undershirt covering his torso.

With everything on the ship that was supposed to be, he made is way up the ramp one more time, his heavy brown boots thumping their way up the metal incline. He hadn't really had a chance to meet the crew yet, so now he supposed was as good of a time as any. As the last person up the ramp, it closed behind him, leaving him in the cargo hold.

The area was essentially a large, open circular room, with a walkway around the edge about ten feet up from the main floor. The edges of the room were mostly pallets of crates and other equipment, while the centre was mostly cleared of any clutter, save for four beautiful speederbikes that Naruto hadn't quite had a chance to check out yet. Before he could indulge himself, he was cut off by a woman's voice calling out to him.

"Hey, Newbie! Where did you put the grav trolley you were using for the crates?" A young woman with distractingly bright pink hair was walking across the floor towards him. She had on a pair of tan capris, black gloves, and a red vest that was zipped up to just below her collarbone. Her voice sounded friendly enough, which was good for Naruto, because he had no clue what she was talking about.

"Pardon?" His clueless face wasn't helping.

"The grav trolley, where'd you put it?" Her friendly voice was slowly morphing into an impatient one.

Naruto could see this conversation wasn't going to go his way, so he decided that he was better off just being direct. "I didn't know there was a grav trolley, I just loaded them by hand."

Now her impatience turned to disbelief. "You expect me to believe that you carried those in by yourself?"

Not quite sure how to handle the situation, Naruto just nodded hesitantly. "Well... yeah. The other guy with the black hair told me to carry the crates up here and stack them over there, so I did." He rose his hand, gesturing to the stack of supplies.

The girl seemed to be balancing on the line of annoyance at him making up nonsense, and believing him. After a few seconds, she evidently decided that he looked genuine.

"Those crates weigh almost 200kg a piece, how did you do that? You look human to me, and you don't look big enough to toss around that kind of weight."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'm just sturdier than average." He was just relieved that she believed him, and wasn't going to keep hounding him for the trolley.

Her face stayed blank for a moment while she wrapped her mind around what she heard. After a moment, she just shook her head and grinned a little. "Well, use the trolley in the future. As the ship's medic, I don't want to have to have to patch you up if you hurt yourself."

Flashing a wide smile now that the situation was resolved, the blond nodded. "Sure thing! I'm Naruto by the way!" He reached his hand forward.

Returning the smile, and the handshake, the girl spoke up. "Sakura Haruno. I'm in charge of the engine room, and as I said, the med bay."

"Nice to meet you!"

Sakura glanced down at her checklist and clipboard for a second, made a mark on it, then set it down on a nearby shelf.

Glancing back at Naruto, she asked, "Want a tour of the ship?"

"That would be great, thanks."

"Alright, follow me." Sakura started walking towards the back of the cargo bay, where there was a lift that went up to the second floor walkway. Following her onto the lift, Naruto took a moment to untie his jacket from his waist and put it back on. Now that he was on the ship, he had cooled off nicely.

Once the lift had stopped at the upper floor, Sakura went into a sort of 'tour guide' mode that Naruto actually found very helpful.

A single door lead to the very back section of the ship, that opened as Sakura entered a code in the panel next to it.

"This is the engine room, this is where I am most of the time, unless someone gets hurt. If you need me for something, feel free to stop by, but I prefer it if people stay out of the engine room. There's a lot of complicated machinery that I don't want anyone touching."

The room was full of things that Naruto had no clue how to operate or read, but he could identify the engine itself, as the large cylinder that ran parallel to the floor, going the length of the room. It was covered in gauges and screens, as well as lights, but most of those things meant nothing to the newest addition to the crew. He was no mechanic.

Stepping back out of the room, Sakura continued her orientation tour. She lead Naruto around the walkway, which made a full ring around the cargo bay, to the archway that marked the hallway to the front of the ship. The hall ran the length of the narrower part of the ship, with doors on the left and right, all down the hall.

The first four rooms they past were the crew quarters, that were nothing more than a simple room with a bed, a desk, some drawers, and a bathroom. Sakura and the dark hair crewman's quarters were on the port side of the ship (left), with Sakura closest to the back, while Kakashi's and now Naruto's rooms were on the starboard (right). Kakashi's cabin was closest to the cockpit, leaving Naruto's room across the hall from Sakura. Naruto just took a second to toss his knapsack onto the bed in his new room, before rejoining Sakura in the hall.

Beyond those, the next pair of rooms where the med bay and kitchen, with the kitchen to the right, next to Kakashi's room, and the med bay just across the hall. The medical bay was made up of two beds near the centre of the room, and lots of surgical equipment and various medications and drugs on the surrounding shelves. The kitchen was just as straight forwards, with a stove, a sink, some cupboards, and a table for four. There wasn't much left from what Naruto could see, only two more doors, three if you counted the one at the end of the hall, which Naruto assumed must lead to the bridge.

The next two doors on the tour were little more than closets by Naruto's definition of the word, with the port room being just enough space to fit equipment for doing laundry, and the starboard just being the entrance to the escape pod airlock.

Finally, they stopped in front of the final door of the day. Before she opened it, she gave Naruto a look over her shoulder.

"This will be your first time really meeting Sasuke, won't it? However me might seem, don't take it personally. He'll warm up to you." She advised. Before Naruto could ask her more about what she meant, the door opened, and she stepped inside.

The room he followed her into wasn't large, but it didn't feel cramped either. To the left and right, there was a forward-facing chair, situated behind a half circle of consoles and panels, with more displays mounted on the wall beside the chair. Some of the controls Naruto was familiar with, others went right over his head. The masked captain of the ship casually sat in the chair to the right, with his one leg up on the other, reading an orange covered book. He gave the two newcomers a friendly smile, then went back to his reading.

Straight ahead, down two steps, was the pilot's seat, front and centre by the view screen. In it sat the dark haired boy Naruto saw earlier, 'Sasuke', if he heard that right. He must have heard them come in, because before they said anything, he swivelled in his chair to face them.

Sakura took that chance to introduce the two boys. "Naruto, this is Sasuke, our pilot. Sasuke, this is Sai's replacement, Naruto."

As he did with the other two, Naruto extended his hand to Sasuke and gave him a grin. "Nice to meet you!"

Sasuke didn't respond to the hand, instead he crossed his arms and leaned back. "Great, another human oaf. Try to keep up, we don't have time to be covering for any incompetence from you."

Seeing that he wouldn't be as friendly as Naruto had hoped, he withdrew his hand as he processed Sasuke's words. He looked human to Naruto, but the way he spoke...

His eyes widened in mild surprise. At closer inspection, he could see some scale-like markings close the the boy's collar, on his pale skin.

"You're an Uchiha." He had never met one, but he remembered studying the famous fire spitters as a child.

If Sasuke was impressed he figured it out that fast, he didn't show it. Instead, he just snorted and turned back to his controls. "Exactly. So remember, try to keep up."

That conversation was evidently over, as Sasuke began to bring the ship's systems online for takeoff. Sakura excused herself and headed back to the engine room, while Kakashi just gestured for Naruto to take the seat across from him. A quick look let Naruto know that his new station was mainly responsible for long range sensors, as well as the star-charts, and navigation. Normally, the operator would plot the most reasonable course for the trip, while the pilot would follow it. He doubted that they'd expect him to take over that on his first day, but he was fortunate enough to at least already know how to use most of the equipment at that station.

It only took a minute or two for Sasuke to have the Raikiri ready to go.

"All systems check out, ready to depart." The bland voice from the front of the room droned out.

Nodding his head, Kakashi closed and stashed his book. "Good. In that case, let's get on our way!"

With that cheerful exclamation, the engines powered up. From Naruto's seat, he watched out the view screen as the sandstone walls of the hangar seemed to drop out of sight, and soon the whole sea of tents and buildings that made up Tahoko were shrinking below them.

Once they were well above ground, Sasuke plunged one of his levers forwards, and he felt himself get pushed into his seat a little as the ship rocketed forwards, up into the sky. In a matter of minutes, they had cleared the planet's atmosphere and where pointed towards the dull, black of space.

Flipping a switch on his console that Naruto assumed must be the ship's PA system, Kakashi began to speak.

"Alright, we're fully fuelled, fully stocked, and fully staffed. Time to get to work. We've been hired by the Subaki Mining Corporation to investigate one of their outposts that has gone dark. We'll check it out, then report back to Subaki, lending assistance if possible. The outpost is inside the Fire Alliance's territory, but it's not a very busy corner of space, anything could happen. It'll take us three days to get there. In the meantime, business as usual."

Flicking the switch back to the 'off' position, he turned to Naruto. "Well Naruto, you've got three days to learn the ropes. You ready to get started?"

Unable to help himself, a wide grin spread across his face. "You better believe it!"

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 **And that's a wrap! Drop a comment to tell me what you think, hopefully people like the premise!**


	2. Orientation

**Chapter 2 came out a bit quicker than I expected it too, but it hey, I guess that's good! This chapter is a little bit dry, but I slipped in a few hints about Naruto's past to keep things interesting. Tell me what you think!**

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The first two days of the voyage were, for Naruto, mostly filled with training and drills. He may have been a quick study, but he had never been a member of a ship's crew before, so there were a lot of things for him to pick up before they got to the mining outpost.

The morning of day one started off with a crew breakfast at 8:00am. The three existing members chatted amicably about the job, people they knew, movies they had seen, the like. Naruto wasn't really able to add much to the conversation, so he mostly just ate his food and listened, learning what he could about the people that he would be spending so much time with, if things went well. Kakashi and Sakura were both pleasant, trying to include him where possible, and aside from Sasuke's frosty demeanor, the new recruit didn't have any complaints.

Between breakfast and lunch, Kakashi took him on a more extensive tour, highlighting more in depth the daily routine of each crewman. Being a spaceship, water and food was limited, so things like showers, laundry, meals, and the like were rationed. Water could be filtered and recycled, but it was still more energy efficient to not be wasteful. Nothing that Naruto didn't expect, but still good to know. They also covered what was expected of him, as well as the kind of jobs they took on. Usually it was pretty standard fare, transporting cargo, scouting out areas of space, even carrying the odd passenger if the price was right. Though from the way Kakashi said that they were "Equipped to defend themselves!" from any pirates they might come across made Naruto think that, under the right circumstances, they might even take payment as hired muscle.

When lunch rolled around, again everyone convened in the mess hall to eat together. Naruto got the feeling that this was the standard for every meal. No sneaking a plate back to your room under Captain Hatake's roof, apparently. The meal followed a similar pattern to the one that morning, though Naruto had some more to contribute, as Sakura asked him about some of the things that he had learned from Kakashi that morning.

As a fun little game, the veterans took some time to quiz him about the ship, and see how well he did. Naruto did pretty well, if he did say so himself, but the others all seemed to take a little too much delight in trying to embarrass him with something he couldn't remember. Even Sasuke joined in for the light hazing, surprising the newcomer. Sakura's words from the day before rang through his head. Maybe he's not so bad after all.

After lunch, he found himself being passed on from Kakashi to Sakura, as she gave him a rundown of some of the ship operations that he'd be expected to perform. He was right when he guessed that he would be the new Navigator, as he was given a tutorial on how to properly read and control the consoles around his chair in the cockpit. Sakura seemed pleased that most of it wasn't completely new to him; it made her job much easier.

As the day went on, Naruto noticed a rather peculiar feature of the Raikiri. He had been released by Sakura after supper (that was once again shared by the whole crew), who wanted to give him the rest of the day to absorb what he had learned. As he was walking back to his cabin for some downtime, he looked around. The lights seemed... dimmer. And more... yellow?

"It's the daylight system. The ship's lights are on a timer, to mimic the different times of day."

Getting used to having voices chime in from seemingly nowhere, he didn't jump this time as he looked over his shoulder. Sasuke had his arms folded, leaning against the door frame of the laundry room. Naruto could hear the dryer going, the Uchiha must have been on break and doing some domestic work.

Nodding at the explanation, Naruto looked back at the light fixtures. Apparently he had dropped off to sleep too early the night before to notice.

"What happens when you land? Doesn't that get confusing, going from the ship's clock to real sunlight?"

A shrug answered the question. "At first. You get used to it thought. We all just run off the ship's clock, we hardly ever put down long enough to adjust."

He tried not to let it show, but Naruto was actually really pleased that the Uchiha was taking time to engage him in conversation. His first impressions of the man hadn't been too good, but past that frigid exterior, he seemed to be a pretty cool guy.

"So what time does...-" Waving his hands at the lights, Naruto tried to find the best words. "sunset happen?"

A brief snort of air came from Sasuke, in what Naruto guessed must have been amusement. "Around 8:00pm. I think Kakashi based the day/night cycle on where he was raised. After sunset, they all get pretty dim, and turn silver. Like moonlight. Like I said, you'll get used to it."

A ding from the laundry machine stopped Sasuke for a second, telling him his clothes were done. As he stooped over to take out his clothes, he tossed in a closing remark. "If you actually turn out to be worth keeping around that is."

There it was. It was apparently too much to expect the boy to have an entire conversation without throwing in some kind of jab at him. Shaking his head ruefully, Naruto continued towards his room.

"Thanks!" He threw over his shoulder, as he walked away.

A grunt and a, "Whatever." was all the answer he got.

Upon entering his quarters, his first order of business was to toss his orange jacket over the back of his chair, and kick off his boots, leaving them at the door. With a little hop, he flopped down on his bunk and stretched out for the first time all day. A long sigh came from his escaped his lips.

For about fifteen minutes, he just laid there, thinking over everything he had learned that day. It was a lot to take in, for sure, but honestly it went better than he had expected. The crew were all helpful, even the one who seemed mildly racist towards humans, he understood his role here, and he had a private bedroom. It had been nearly a decade since Naruto had been able to enjoy that kind of luxury.

He glanced at the time and decided he might as well squeeze in a quick workout, then go to sleep. He couldn't see them going any easier on him tomorrow. For thirty minutes, he ran through a simple, but tiring regimen. To help keep cool, he had ditched the shirt, leaving him in just his black pants, showing off a rather impressively built torso. More than just toned, he had some definite bulk to him, though nothing that would stand out too much under a layer or two of clothes. But that was hardly the most attention drawing part of his body.

Just as he was wrapping things up, a buzz sounded, letting him know that someone was outside his door.

"Come in!" He raised his voice for them to hear.

The door slid open to show Sakura there, holding a clipboard and pen once again, probably there to tell him tomorrow's schedule. She gave him a once over, before her eyes locked onto his chest, stopping her short. But not for the reason you might think.

Naruto could see exactly what she was looking at, and cursed inwardly about answering the door before putting his shirt back on. "Don't look so concerned, it's an old scar."

The scar in question was an incision, about 8 inches long, that ran vertically the length of his breastbone. In addition, there was scaring that looked like it was from a burn on his left shoulder, and again on his right hip.

Sakura's medically trained eye could see that these didn't come from some superficial injury.

"Naruto! What happened to you!" She took a step or two forwards, getting a slightly better look. It didn't take her long to come to a conclusion. "You've had some kind of surgery. No injury leaves a cut that straight and precise. What happened?"

Clearly uncomfortable with where this was going, Naruto tried to put the subject to rest. "I'd rather not talk about it. It's no big deal, I promise."

Her green eyes rose from his scar to lock with his blue eyes, not conveying happy thoughts. "As the ship's medic, I need to know about the physical health of the crew. If you have some kind of condition that required that level of surgery, I need to know."

Wincing slightly, Naruto conceded that point. She was right, it was pertinent to her job. With a shrug, he gave her a few more details. "It's honestly nothing. When I was a kid, a power conduit on the ship my family was on blew, and I got caught in the energy stream." He gestured to the burns on his shoulder and hip. "The electricity struck my shoulder, traveled through my body, then jumped out through my hip. The charge completely ruined my heart."

He could see that Sakura was about to interrupt, so he finished his story off quickly. "Fortunately the ship's medical staff was able to perform a transplant right away. It was a rough few years, recovering from that, but that was a long time ago. It's in the past."

If there was one thing that Naruto had learned, was it was to never lie to someone that you'd be working with closely. Always tell them the truth, just not the whole truth.

"W-wow. That's not what I was expecting. It's amazing you recovered like you did, most people's entire central nervous system would have been fried by something like that. You must be really lucky."

A light chuckled rose out of Naruto's throat at that. "That's one word for it. So what did you need?"

Snapping her attention back to her original purpose for visiting, Sakura looked back down to the board in her hand with the itinerary for the new recruit's next day.

"I was just going to let you know that tomorrow you'll be working with Sasuke, he'll be showing you the the tools and equipment that we use off the ship, to defend ourselves, get around, that kind of thing. I saw you eyeing up those speederbikes yesterday, he'll show you around those too."

A wide smile broke across the man's face at that. "Sweet! I can't wait!"

Grinning at the enthusiasm, Sakura turned to make her exeunt. "You better keep that attitude tomorrow! You've probably noticed that Sasuke doesn't have the greatest bedside manner. Goodnight!"

With a quick wave, she was gone, leaving Naruto alone in his room once again, thinking about the events to come.

Once again, the crew was humming with life at 8:00am sharp, with a community breakfast in the mess hall. As they were eating, menial conversation ruled the room, on anything from how touchy the guidance systems on TF-382 probes were, to how Sakura's mom and dad told her to say "Hello" to the crew for them in their last message.

When it felt natural to do so, Naruto asked Kakashi more about the mission that they'd be doing the next day.

"So, what do you expect to find when we get to the outpost? Why would it go dark like that?"

Kakashi finished chewing his mouthful of food as he thought about how to answer. For a few seconds, the sound of crunching was all that could be heard. Naruto couldn't quite wrap his mind around how the Captain had managed to fill his mouth with food while keeping his mask up, but somehow he had managed it. Finally, he swallowed and opened his mouth.

"We can't be sure, that's why we were sent here after all, to find out. But in cases like this it's usually equipment problems, extreme weather, natural disasters, something like that. In those cases, we'll just check in on the base, and if it's something that they can take care of on their own, we'll just relay to Subaki Corporation that the outpost is safe, then we'll be on our way."

He reached for his glass of water and took a swig before he continued. "It's possible, of course, that the outpost was attacked by someone; pirates, foreign marauders, mercenaries from a different corporation, but it's unlikely. Konoha warships do a good job of patrolling the fire alliance's borders, corporations usually aren't so bold as to outright attack one another, and pirates rarely have the firepower necessary to take on a place like this. These places are usually quite equipped to defend themselves."

This did help put Naruto at ease. Not that the thought of a fight scared him, he had been in more than his share of life or death struggles over the years, but he always preferred if he could avoid them.

In a few minutes the meal was all finished, with Naruto and Sakura assigned to do the dishes. Being that only four people ate, it didn't take long and Naruto was told to report to the cargo bay for today's lessons. Still remembering Sakura's words from the night before, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little giddy. He was finally on to the exciting stuff.

It only took him a minute or two to walk down the hall, around the walkway, and take the lift down to the main cargo level. When he got there, he could see Sasuke standing off to the side by a large crate. The Uchiha beckoned him over with a wave, as he worked on undoing the latches.

When Naruto got to him, Sasuke wasted no time. "You're going to need to know how to defend yourself if you're going to survive in this line of work. Do you know how to use any weapons?"

Naruto's suspicions about the crew being armed were confirmed the moment the lid of the crate sprung open, revealing a cache of various firearms. He wasn't by any means an expert, but he could recognize at least one scattershot blaster, a semi-auto rifle, and from the looks of it, a sniper too. Not to mention a number of standard pistols and a hand cannon. Either these weapons were on board illegally, or Kakashi had a cabinet full of gun licenses. Not that Naruto cared either way.

"My dad taught me to shoot when I was a kid, but I haven't touched a gun in years."

A puff of air marked Sasuke's annoyance. "Better than nothing I guess. First off, the BK-55 shotgun is Sakura's, and the Incisor sniper is Kakashi's. If you touch either one of them, they'll lose their shit."

Naruto couldn't keep in a bark of laughter at that. Those two both seemed so composed, but apparently there were some buttons he shouldn't push.

"What kind of weapon do you prefer?" Sasuke was now looking at Naruto, waiting for an answer.

Not really sure what to say, Naruto tried to recall his shooting lessons with his father, which wasn't easy. It was a long time ago. "I always liked shooting rifles, I guess."

"That's a start." With that, he pulled out the gun that Naruto had noted earlier.

It was a longer weapon than the others, save Kakashi's sniper, but not so long as to be cumbersome. It could easily be slung over Naruto's back to be carried, without bumping against every obstacle he walked past. The stock was solid black, with the mechanism and barrel being the same color. He held it out for Naruto to take, who gingerly reached out and grabbed it.

"No pussy-footing around, it's not loaded." Sasuke's biting voice cracked out, seeing Naruto's hesitation. "How does it feel?"

Reassured that he wouldn't accidentally be blowing a hole in the wall, he held it up to his shoulder like he had been taught, and looked through the sights experimentally. It may have been years ago, but apparently muscle memory didn't fade fast, it still felt natural to him.

"It feels good. I can handle this."

"Good. Give it back."

A little put off by the cranky attitude, he handed it back to Sasuke, who pointed out two settings on the weapon.

"This AC-240 has two modes of fire, single shot, and three shot bursts. This here is the safety. Always keep the safety on until you're ready to shoot."

He was rehashing what Naruto's father would have already taught him, but he didn't care. It was important stuff. He set the rifle back into the crate, and pulled out one of the pistols. The pistol had a matte black grip, with a barrel that more or less just looked like a banded cylinder and a pair of iron sights on the top.

"This is an HP-11. We all carry one of these. It's accurate, it's reliable, and it's easy to use." Again, he pointed out the safety, then handed it to Naruto, to get a feel for it. A few seconds of handling seemed to be enough in Sasuke's books, as he took it back and stashed it away again.

"Who's hand cannon is that?" The curious inquiry seemed to draw a little more ire from the dark haired man.

"The BRUTE is mine. Don't touch it."

With that, he resealed the lid and walked over to a different crate.

"As good as the guns are, you can't depend entirely on them. We all carry a physical weapon too, just in case. If you're out of ammo, don't want to set of an energy discharge, worried about hitting a civilian, whatever the reason it's good to have a backup plan."

Repeating the process from last time, Sasuke threw open the lid, and drew out what looked like some kind of antique to Naruto. In Sasuke's hand was a scabbard, with a long, straight blade inside. A 'chokuto' if Naruto was remembering right.

He drew the blade, letting the light shine off of the reflective surface. "This is mine, the Chidori."

Not wanting to insult him, Naruto tried to point out the problem with what he was seeing, tactfully. "It's impressive and all, but what if your opponent is wearing body armor?"

Sasuke just smirked. Without warning, the sound of chirping filled the air, living up to the blade's name. Naruto could just see a few streaks of electricity arcing up and down the blade, almost unnoticeable to the human eye.

"The blade has a network of power nodes that, when activated, make it vibrate on the molecular level. This is more like a buzz saw than a sword. There's nothing it can't cut."

Naruto was sure that was an exaggeration, though probably not by much. His surprise at that kind of technology must have been evident on his face, if Sasuke's amused look was anything to go by.

Sheathing the blade, he put it back away and pulled out something else. "This is a little something of Kakashi's. If you're any good with it, you can use it."

In his hand was actually two things. The first was a metal bracelet that would latch around the wrist of whoever wore it so that it wouldn't easily slip off. The second was a sphere, roughly the size of a grapefruit, that looked like it was made up of countless tiny rings of metal, all facing different directions. It reminded him of a rubber band ball. Both were an icy shade of light blue.

From the moment he laid eyes on it, Naruto could feel this sense of nostalgia, like he knew he should recognize it, but he just couldn't place the memory. The feeling didn't last long, as Sasuke continued. "Kakashi got it from an old colleague of his. Apparently this was made by some hotshot researcher from Konoha a couple decades ago, but controlling it was beyond most of their soldiers. This was the only one ever made, and no one alive knows how to make more. It never got put into circulation, but it's devastating if you can use it right."

He handed the two pieces to Naruto. By now, Naruto no longer felt nostalgic. Instead, he had ice in his veins, and he could feel a cold bead of sweat run down the side of his face. He hid it as best as he could, but his entire being locked up at the sight of this seemingly harmless ball. He knew this weapon.

The next words from Sasuke's mouth were like a punch to the gut.

"It's called the Rasengan."

* * *

After a couple hours of getting Naruto familiar with his new armaments, Sasuke gave him a rundown of the other gear he'd be using. Most of it was basic stuff, but there were a few interesting parts. The speederbikes for one, were something that Naruto was absolutely chomping at the bit to use. He was also pretty pleased that Sasuke had given him a new transponder to replace his old hunk of junk. It was sleeker, more advanced, and best of all, had no cracks in the screen. Pretty nifty, if Naruto did say so himself.

At lunch the crew had another fun session of quizzing Naruto about what he'd learned, but this time he was ready. He kept up to the questions, and was able to hold his own in the three vs one conversation. He had only really been there a day and a half, but Naruto couldn't help but feel himself laughing along at the jokes, and relaxing into the atmosphere. It was in no way what he expected from a professional work environment, but it felt... better this way.

To finish off the day, Naruto spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at his post, under Kakashi's supervision. He interpreted the sensor readings, he watched the star-charts, and he would give recommendations on a flight course. He did pretty well all around. Sometimes Kakashi would point out something he could have done better, or something he missed, but there were no big mistakes made. As the hours passed, he continued to get better, and Kakashi was sure that he would only continue to improve with time.

By the time his shift was done, Naruto only had the energy to drag himself back to his room and collapse on his bed. He nearly had a heart attack when he was with Sasuke earlier, but he had recovered before anyone could see that something was wrong, no harm done. It had mostly just taken him by surprise was all. What were the odds? A one of a kind weapon developed by the Fire Alliance military falls into Naruto's lap, fifteen years since he last had seen it. That was a rather big coincidence. The implications unsettled him, turning around in his head over and over.

Despite all the unpleasant thoughts, just before he drifted off to sleep, a smile found its way onto his face. Tomorrow they would arrive at the destination, and he'd really be able to get his feet wet. Kakashi said it would probably be a simple job, but it would still be exciting for him. Besides, Naruto had a feeling that it would be a little more complicated than what Kakashi expected. The unexpected seemed to follow him around, after all, if today was anything to go by.

* * *

 **And there it is! This chapter was mostly setting up for future events, but hopefully it was still bearable. As always, let me know what you thought.**


	3. Contact

**And a third chapter within a week! I'll probably start to slow down a little now that I've got the world established, but I'll still try to keep things pretty regular. This chapter gets a little bit of a peak into the action, but I'll let you read that for yourself. Enjoy!**

* * *

Today was the day. From the moment he rolled out of bed, Naruto felt tense, anticipating the mission. Kakashi said that they'd probably get there around 2:00pm, but it still felt immanent. At the breakfast table, no one else seemed to be bothered. They chatted about the same old stuff as they usually did, seemingly without a care in the world.

It was to be expected, he supposed. This was just another day on the job for them. They'd probably done this exact kind of job a hundred times or more, so there really was nothing to worry about. He tried to follow their example the best he could, just going about his job, trying not to overthink what was about to happen.

It worked for the most part, passing the hours working in the cockpit. There was something about the snide remarks from Sasuke about his incompetence and how lazy the captain was, that calmed him down. Sakura was back with the engine, like she said she often was, while Kakashi was once again reclined at his station, reading his favourite book.

The only break in routine came right after lunch. Sasuke and Sakura left the table first, both heading to the ship's hold, leaving Naruto and Kakashi to do the dishes. As they finished up and put the last dishes away in the cupboards, Kakashi motioned for Naruto to follow him.

"Come with me for a moment." As the two walked towards the back of the ship, Kakashi explained what was going on. "On each mission, we make sure to arm up a couple hours before we arrive. Most of the time it isn't necessary, but if things go sideways, we won't have time to run back here and grab them. I understand Sasuke gave you the rundown on the weapons?"

Naruto nodded in response. "Yeah, he did."

"Good. Chances are you won't get to use them today, but you need to be ready."

By the time the two of them got into the cargo hold, the others had already suited up, as it were. Sakura wore her pistol in a holster on her right hip, and strapped to her left thigh was her BK-55. Like other modern weapons and the rifle Sasuke had shown him before, it's outer plates reconfigured when not active, so the barrel and grip could slid into the casing, letting it take up about half the space as when it's activated. At the press of a button it would snap into combat mode, but until then it was tucked nicely at her side.

That didn't surprise Naruto, he was more interested by the four foot long pole that stuck up from over her shoulder. At the bottom end, near her lower back, two heavy looking metal blocks were attached, one on either side of the shaft. Between them, there was a slight glow from some kind of power source. Naruto had one guess as to what kind of weapon that was.

"You use a grav ham?"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle a little at his slack jawed face. She may seem like a sweet, friendly person, but apparently she had no qualms about turning a person's skull into paste, should the need arise.

"What, never seen a pretty girl use a pirate as a baseball with a gravity hammer before?"

Naruto tossed his hands up in a sort of shrug. "Honestly? No. That would be a first."

Flashing him a smirk and a flick of her hair, she quipped, "Well keep watching, we'll see if we can change that." right before she turned to head back to the engine room. Now that she was armed, there was no reason for her to loiter around, she had a post to be at.

Sasuke moved to follow her. He wore his HP-11 sidearm in a holster that hung underneath his right arm, poised for his left hand to draw. On his left hip was his 'Chidori' in its sheath, and on his right thigh was the long, heavy barreled pistol that was Sasuke's hand cannon.

Naruto just followed Kakashi over to the weapons, and followed his lead. Sasuke had shown him how to fasten his holster to his right side the day before, in a gunslinger styled position, so his HP-11 sat at about mid thigh. The bracelet and ball of his Rasengan rested on his left hip, and the rifle was on his back in carrying mode. Underneath his jacket he was wearing a harness he had been given the day previous. It was basically just two straps that went around his shoulders, but on the back was a small strip of metal. Not enough to restrict movement, or even for Naruto to notice it really, but it was enough for the AC-240's magnetic clamp to lock onto. The magnet would disengage the moment Naruto switched it into combat mode, allowing for an easy draw.

Kakashi wore his weapons very similar to Naruto, though his pistol sat on his left side. Across the small of his back, with its hilt sticking out to the right, the Captain had a short, foot and a half long blade in a pure white sheath.

With everything out, he sealed up the crate and lead Naruto back to the bridge. On the walk, he explained what had just happened to Naruto, in further detail.

"Typically, we wouldn't dig out the big guns-" he waved his had at his own sniper and Naruto's larger weapon, "unless we knew we were going to be facing trouble. We'd just grab our sidearms and melee weapons. We decided we'd get fully suited up today to show you the whole procedure."

He paused a moment as they reached the balcony with the lift, and stepped off. "It's up to you of course, but these bigger weapons are usually pretty uncomfortable to sit in a chair with for too long... unless you're Sasuke, his doesn't get in the way at all. I only grab mine if I know I'm going to be using it."

The two entered the bridge, and each took their seat behind Sasuke. "The more jobs you go on, the better you'll get at judging what you should bring, and what you should leave behind."

It made sense to Naruto. If they were just hired to drop some cargo off at a spaceport, it wouldn't make much sense to be carrying a rifle through that crowd. Just his sidearm would be more appropriate. But like Kakashi said, he'd get better at deciding that with more experience. Or he could always follow the example of the others on the ship, this hardly seemed to be their first rodeo.

With that, he settled back into his chair for the last hour of the trip. He soon found out that Kakashi was right. Leaning back in his chair with his AC-240 across his back was definitely not something he wanted to do each day.

The closer and closer they got to their destination, the jumpier and more paranoid Naruto got about the sensor readings and blips in the distance. He soon found that there really was nothing to worry about, as Sasuke dropped them out of their slipstream, and began the approach to the system. It was never a good idea to use a slipstream drive inside a solar system, so the regular engines would take it from there.

It was only a matter of minutes before the planet that the mining colony was orbiting could be seen in the view screen. The planet itself was a gas giant, it's various shades of blue rippling and swirling, like a giant, cloudy marble. Their mission objective lay in the thick asteroid belt, among countless floating rocks varying in size from pebbles to mountains.

Looking at his instruments, Naruto began to worry and got Kakashi's attention. "Captain! The sensors are getting pretty erratic, I'm not sure what's causing it. It's getting pretty hard to tell what's out there."

The one-eyed man didn't seem perturbed by this development, in fact, he looked like he had been expecting it.

"It's the mineral they mine here." He explained. "In it's unrefined state, it confuses sensors. Don't worry, it doesn't get much worse than it already has, we'll still be able to detect something like a ship's power signature if it gets too close. But just in case, keep your eyes extra sharp." He finished off, gesturing out the window.

The facility in question was dug into one of the largest asteroids, with two landing pads above ground level, and the rest buried beneath the surface. There were floodlights set up to illuminate the pad, also casting light on the solid blast doors that lead to the facility. Naruto guessed that was what Kakashi meant when he said these places where defended. It would take a bombardment from a sizable warship to blast through those doors, not to mention the mounts on either side of the opening that looked like they held some potent turrets to discourage any unwanted landing parties.

That was at least, until the Raikiri's crew got a closer look.

"What the hell?" Naruto couldn't help but utter.

All around the doors were scorched blast marks, but the most notable features was that both of the mounted turrets had been blasted to pieces. Not the kind of firepower that the average pirate crew had at their disposal. Any and all exposed equipment had also been destroyed, including the long distance communication array. The only thing not wrecked was the blast door itself, which managed to repel whatever assault had befell this place, at least for the time being. By the look of the place, if the attack had lasted much longer, the door would have given way. Whoever was responsible had either been spooked off by something, or where still in the area. Good news, as it meant that there were probably survivors. Bad news in that whoever did this was still at large.

The two there in the room with Naruto had grim expressions, both taking a couple minutes to learn what they could, before deciding on the next course of action. Kakashi must have had a plan, because he began to speak.

"First order of business is to see if we can raise anyone inside the compound on the comm. If that doesn't wor-"

A blip appeared on Naruto's console. "There's a ship closing in on us, starboard side!"

Snapping to attention, Sasuke brought the Raikiri around to face the newcomer. Naruto almost felt a sigh of relief when what he saw out the window wasn't a typical, scrapped together pirate barge. It was a much more hope-inspiring sight.

To be specific, it was a Sparrow Class warship, Konoha's current model of Corvette. It was the smallest class of ship that could be considered a 'warship', but that didn't mean it was small. It was still over five times the size of the Raikiri, usually holding a crew compliment of around three dozen soldiers, with several batteries of cannons, as well as smaller turrets to fend off enemy fighters. A ship like that would probably be commanded by an experienced chunin, or a fresh jounin. The main purpose of the corvette was to destroy similar sized craft that may pose a risk to friendly capital ships in larger engagements, but they could also be used as patrols either on the border, or within the Alliance's territory.

The ship was shaped mostly like it's namesake, a sparrow in flight. A large head that held the bridge and command deck sat on the front of the ship, coming to a slight point like a beak, followed by a cylindrical body that extended back. The wings of the ship were shorter than an actual bird's wings, instead only extending a short ways, acting as mounts for several maneuvering thrusters, making it more nimble. Towards the very back, the ship tapered off, leaving the main engines at the tail, completing the mostly cylinder shaped ship, though it was shorter than it was wide.

On either side of the Sparrow's head was a rotating battery of heavy guns, with four large barrels. Two similar weapons mounts were at the back, on top of and below the tail. Several smaller, anti-fighter turrets were placed strategically around the hull as well. It was a largely gray ship, with deep green accent painting on some of the ship's edges.

Typically speaking though, a Corvette should have an escort of several fighters. Where where they now? Naruto supposed they might have been destroyed in the fight, it would explain a few things. The light damage on the hull of the corvette, for one.

While Naruto and Sasuke both visibly relaxed that it was a friendly ship, Kakashi just looked puzzled as he examined the hull.

Sasuke must have picked up on it, because he asked, "What's the matter?"

Humming to himself, Kakashi paused. "This section of space is patrolled by the 23rd Konoha Fleet. But if you look there-" he pointed out the identification number on the Corvette's side, "that ship is from the 48th fleet. I wonder what it's doing here."

The comm beeped out a signal, interrupting that train of thought. Flipping a switch, Kakashi answered the other starship.

"This is Captain Grayson of the Konoha Patrol Corps. What is your purpose for coming here?"

That made Naruto cock an eyebrow. "Talk about rude. Wait, Konoha Patrol corps? Is that new? I've never heard of it."

Sasuke took that as an appropriate time to toss in a snide remark. "Big surprise there."

Naruto just shot the Uchiha a flat look for a second or two, before Kakashi butted in, supporting Naruto.

"I've never heard of it either."

While this back and forth was progressing, Kakashi had sent a reply. "This is Captain Hatake, of the Raikiri. We were just passing through the system and thought we could fuel up here. Just a leaf on the wind, really."

Naruto's eyes widened at that, as he turned to look at Kakashi. Before he could say anything, the other vessel responded. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. We're dealing with a situation here, we'll need to ask you to move along."

Naruto got even more bug eyed at the response. Sasuke picked up on this, and questioned the blonde in a hushed tone, letting Kakashi think. "What's with the weird face?"

Replying in an equally hushed voice, Naruto spoke up. "It's that phrase he used, 'A leaf on the wind'!"

A shrug was his answer he got. "So? It's a saying of Kakashi's."

"No, it isn't! That's a Konoha code, it means that we have a connection to Konoha!"

Now Sasuke looked a little more interested, but not nearly as surprised as Naruto.

"It makes sense. Kakashi used to be an Elite Jounin with them, before he retired."

"Elite Jounin!?" That was a huge development. In the entire Fire Alliance, there was only a handful of Elite Jounin, that rank alone guaranteed you to be a commander of your own fleet. It did explain some things though, like how Kakashi was allowed to arm his crew to the teeth. Naruto waved his hands, he was getting distracted. "That's not the important part. The important bit is that 'Captain Grayson' didn't give the right response. So either he's the most incompetent captain in all of Konoha, or-"

"Or something is seriously wrong here." Kakashi finished for him. He squinted his exposed eye and looked towards Naruto. "But how is it that you know of that code?"

Now that he was in the hot seat, Naruto squirmed a little. "I grew up on a Konoha ship."

Right at that moment, Naruto saw movement on the scanners. They were still jumpy and glitchy from the nearby minerals, but something just powered up behind them.

"There's something behind us! It just powered up!"

Sasuke grabbed at his controls, aiming to get them out of there, but before he could do anything there was a lurch through the ship.

"They've latched onto us with magnetic grapplers!"

From the view screen, the underside of a large cargo ship was peeking over the top of the Raikiri. It was un ugly ship, looking mostly like a big, lumpy rectangle. It was large, but far from intimidating, it probably wasn't even armed. Fortunately for whoever was aboard it, they didn't need to be armed. The Raikiri was in no position to resist, unless they wanted to tear the plating off the ship where the clamps had attached.

"Damn it!" Naruto punched the console in front of him. The cargo vessel must have powered down and been drifting in among the asteroids, until they were in a position to pounce.

As they started to be pulled into the open hangar bay doors of the freighter, the voice from the Konoha ship crackled over the comm again.

"On second thought, I think I like you just where you are." The faceless man on the other end sounded infinitely smug.

Naruto's mind was flying at a 100 miles a minute as adrenaline started to flood his system. "How the hell did pirates get their hands on a Konoha Corvette?!"

Kakashi seemed calm, though deadly serious. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter right now. We only have a few seconds before they'll have us in their hangar, then they'll try to board. They're probably keen on grabbing another ship."

It was right then that Sakura ran up from the back, joining the rest of the crew as they listened to their Captain give the rest of his plan.

"When the doors first open, I don't want to be stuck in a defensive battle on the Raikiri. We'll make a push off the ship, and take the fight to them. We need to access the docking bay controls to release our ship. Once we're free, we'll deal with the warship."

Naruto was following along, up until that. "How are we any match for that ship? You told me the kind of weapons we have, it won't even scratch it!"

That didn't seem to bother any of the other three people present. It was actually Sakura that chimed in to calm him down. "Don't worry, we've got some tricks up our sleeves."

The masked man nodded. "She's right. I know my ship, and I know theirs, probably better than they do. We'll be fine, so long as we can get out of this freighter."

They were almost fully inside the other ship now. The four of them started moving back to the cargo area, where they would make first contact with whomever would try to board them.

With only moments to spare before the landing ramp would be forced open, they had to set up a position that would allow them to push into the hangar, and blast through the opposition. Sakura had just the thing.

"Guys, help me with this!"

She ran over to a large canister on the edge of the room. It was easily as tall as she was, and about three times as long. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be budging without proper equipment. It just so happened though, that she knew it was empty, making it slightly more possible to move. And she had a hunch there was another thing working towards them being able to move it.

"Naruto! Push that end, you're good with heavy things!"

He ran over to follow her lead, the other two joining in as well.

"Didn't you say to use a grav trolley next time?"

She chuckled to herself. He had her there. At first there was no budge. But after a second or two, there was a change. Naruto adjusted his footing, and bit down, hard. The strain could be seen in his arms, and his mouth opened involuntarily.

"Aaaarrrrghhh!"

The steel crate started sliding, and now with the momentum they had, they kept going until it was sitting right in front of the ramp, where the boarding team would be coming from. It's widest side faced the enemy, though Naruto wasn't quite sure what was gained by that. Then again, he was mostly just concerned with catching his breath.

Things started to make sense when Sakura reached over her shoulder and gripped the shaft of her weapon. When she pulled the grav ham from its harness, she took up position behind the crate and gripped the handle of her weapon with both hands. There she stood, waiting, looking like a batter ready to swing.

Across the floor on the other side of the room, Kakashi had drawn his pistol, holding it in his left hand, his right was resting on the hilt of the blade that sat across his back. Sasuke had drawn both of his guns, his heavy pistol in the right hand, and the smaller one in the left. His jaw looked clenched, and he let out a puff of air from his nostrils, as well as a fair amount of smoke. The scale markings around his collar bone seemed to crawl higher, reaching almost to his jaw, and Naruto could pretty safely say that the first pirate who came face to face with the Uchiha boy in the coming seconds was going to end up a little... crispy.

Naruto himself slapped on the control bracelet for his spherical weapon, and reached behind his back to grab his gun and lock it into combat mode. He held it in a right handed grip, the stock up against his shoulder, the barrel pointed at the door.

The groan of hydraulics sounded out, and the ramp lowered down into place, leaving the cargo bay wide open.

Sakura just smirked. "Shannaro!" The deep buzzing noise of her hammer activating, and her swinging it at the broad side of the crate in front of her signaled the start of the fight. Naruto could only hope that his crew was as bad-ass in a fight as they looked right now. He knew he wouldn't be dying today, but he did not want to be forced into getting serious.

When the hammer made contact with the crate, it made known just why it was called what it was. With a pulse of energy, the crate that had been nigh unmovable moments before was lifted off the floor and launched out of the loading ramp at record speeds. It didn't even slow down while turning the six people who had tried rushing up the entrance into a smear on the floor. It continued into the stacks of boxes and containers that were piled around the freighter's hangar, scattering quite a number of large containers, making all the bandits that had been prepared to open fire dive for cover. That was all the distraction that was needed.

The Raikiri's crew rushed towards the opening, making a break for cover in the hangar. Naruto felt his blaster thrum with energy as he open fired, and with that, all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **Next chapter will get more into the action, as you can probably tell, hopefully this chapter still felt engaging enough though. As always, tell me what you thought!**


	4. Proving Grounds

**Well, I'm back with chapter 4! This chapter will get into the action, hopefully it doesn't disappoint. There has been a few guesses about backstories and such, and I won't give anything away, but some of you are pretty close! I did get asked what happened to Sai, and I will say that yes, he died. I'll probably go into that more as the story goes on, but for now, here's chapter 4!**

* * *

From the moment Sakura's makeshift projectile had broken up the opposing formation, the crew had begun to make their push into the enemy ship. In a matter of moments, it was no longer the Raikiri under threat of being boarded, but the freighter that had captured them.

The moment he was off the ramp, Naruto ducked behind some nearby equipment, taking brief breaks from cover to fire at anything moving that wasn't his crew. He wasn't a great shot yet, he had only just picked up a gun for the first time in years yesterday, that was to be expected. But he was good enough to keep the pirates on their toes and behind cover. He did score a few hits though, on anyone still exposed who hadn't found more cover.

The hangar that they found themselves in was rectangular, with a high ceiling. It was large enough to comfortable fit two ships the size of the Raikiri, meaning it must be a sizeable vessel. Fortunately sizeable did not mean formidable, as the size in this case was just for cargo and living quarters. That said, it gave them no clue how many people were on board that would be coming for them.

The hangar was filled with lots of things to duck behind, and a walkway ran the length of it on one side, giving a great vantage point for the enemy crew.

Seeing an opportunity, Naruto popped out and fired his weapon in burst mode, catching a woman in the chest as she tried to close in on his position. As the blue blasts of energy hit her, she soundlessly recoiled and dropped to the floor, dead instantly.

He looked over to see what how team was fairing. What he saw both relieved him, and made him feel especially self conscious about his own abilities.

Sakura had rushed a crate that was sheltering two pirates, and vaunted over it, bringing her scattershot to bear. Two blasts later, and two fresh smoldering corpses were laying on the deck, the pink hair girl moving on, being sure to stick to cover between stacks of supplies so the people on the balcony couldn't pick her off.

A plume of flame drew Naruto's attention. From the looks of it, someone had jumped out and tried grappling with Sasuke, in an attempt to disarm him. While their hands were occupied with the struggle, Sasuke just pursed his lips and exhaled. A stream of searing heat engulfed the pirate's head leading to an ear splitting scream. After a second or two, the screaming stopped. Sasuke cut off his fiery breath and pushed further into the hangar bay, using his duel pistols to keep the surrounding enemies under cover.

In contrast to the intensity of the first two, Kakashi looked completely relaxed as he strolled about the skirmish, dodging blaster bolts, and cracking off insane shots with his sidearm, seemingly dropping an opponent every time he pulled the trigger.

A door that lead out of the room slid open, revealing four more thugs, charging in. Kakashi had actually made the most progress into the ship, as Sasuke and Sakura had been more focused on clearing the room, and Kakashi had just made a straight line for the door.

In a split second, he dropped the first two men with his pistol, then in the blink of an eye he threw the short sword off his back into the throat the woman next in line. Before she fell, he stepped forwards, grabbed his blade back, and swung it in an arc towards the last of the four, standing several feet away. A crescent of pure white energy launched from his weapon, leaving a deep, fatal slash across the pirate's torso.

Naruto's jaw couldn't help but hang a little lower than usual. The friendly, jovial team that he had signed up with had just brutally dismantled a dozen hardened criminals, without taking a scratch, or batting an eye. He'd have to pull up his socks if he wanted to pull his weight around here.

Movement caught his eye and he fired, grazing the arm of a man who had just tried to peak around his cover. Now he was being overly cautious, not showing himself at all.

Grumbling at having to use it, Naruto grabbed the sphere at his hip and tossed it into the air. It's power source thrummed to life as he stretched his left hand out towards it, control bracelet on. It hovered a few feet from his palm and roared to life, the innumerable metal bands swirling and twirling at incredible speeds in different directions. Pushing out with his hand, the ball few out, further from Naruto, until it was behind the small piece of loading machinery that the injured man was hiding behind. Naruto swept his hand to the side, the Rasengan following suit, swinging to Naruto's right, slamming into the side of the hiding man.

Another shrill scream filled the air as the machine did it's job, grinding into it's target. It was over quick though, and Naruto recalled his weapon with a thought, placing it back on his hip. A look around seemed to show that the hangar was clear. It wouldn't stay that way for long though, so the four regrouped, Kakashi quickly doling out orders.

"I want us to do two things while we're here. Release the docking controls, and sabotage the slipstream drive core. That way we get out, and this ship will be history. As long as we're off the ship before it blows, we'll be fine."

That last sentence didn't really inspire confidence in the newest addition to the team, but the Captain's relaxed attitude did a little. He would probably be a little more tense if he wasn't confident in their odds. Right?

"Sakura, you stay with the ship. Keep anyone off of it that isn't us, and keep it running. We'll need to get out of here quick. The crew will probably be more worried about us being free on their ship, so you shouldn't be the centre of their attention."

The pink haired girl nodded and turned tail to head back to the ship. She stood at the base of the ramp, keeping watch on all the entrances to the hangar. With all the heavy boxes around her, she had plenty of ammo if someone did come along.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you get to the engine core. Use these." He tossed them a couple objects. Upon closer inspection, they were explosives, nasty ones.

"Plant those and get back to the ship. They run by remote, so no need to guess with a timer."

The tall man started walking off, in the opposite direction of where Naruto assumed the engine room would be, if this ship had any sense to it.

"I'll take care of the docking controls."

Normally Naruto would have voiced some concern about him going off alone, but a glance at the four very recently deceased pirates at his feet quashed that thought.

Instead, he turned his head to Sasuke. "Lead the way."

The two took off at a jog, making good time through the ship. The layout was simple, as was expected of this kind of vessel. That made it easy to navigate, and easy to guess where the engines would logically be. They came across a few groups of outlaws on their way to their destination, but they weren't given any trouble. It seemed that everyone hadn't expected the small crew of the Raikiri to survive longer than a few seconds in the hangar, and hadn't been prepared very well for the scenario of them completely overrunning the much larger boarding team.

This worked well, as some were found just going about their business, and the few that were heading to the hangar were just curious about their newest acquisition. Neither groups were ready for a fight, and therefore posed no challenge to the boys.

Naturally though, that didn't last forever. In a few minutes, alarms started sounding throughout the freighter, putting everyone on alert. Fortunately for the Raikiri, the boys were almost at their destination.

When the doors to the engine room opened, Naruto ducked to the left side, and Sasuke ducked to the right, expecting a barrage of gunfire. Oddly enough, there was none. Instead, there was the pounding of feet on the floor, as several people rushed the door. Naruto risked a quick glance from his cover, and saw that none of the engineers were armed with more than some metal poles or tools that were on hand.

He scoffed a little at that, and brought his weapon to bare on the half dozen people. He was disappointed though when nothing happened. Sasuke tried his own weapon and got no response.

The Uchiha evidently had some idea of what was going. "They must have a localized dampening field, portable energy sources won't work in here."

He holstered both his weapons and drew his Chidori, before dashing at the opposition, Naruto following close behind. The built in power source may not work here, but it was still a deadly weapon. Sasuke cut one down before the crowd reached him, landing a clean strike across the chest. He was unable to press the advantage though, forced to block a pipe swung by an angry pirate.

Disengaging, he twirled around to dodge a wrench aimed at his skull. Three of the crew that were wielding makeshift weapons worked in tandem to force Sasuke back, leaving Naruto to take care of the other two. With the dampening field, his Rasengan was no use to him, so he just assumed a loose fighting stance. The first man came at him with a right hook which Naruto handily grabbed, using the man's momentum to toss him headfirst into the wall. The impact cleanly knocked him out, leaving only one.

Taking initiative, Naruto stepped forward, batting aside a swing, and planted his palm on the pirate's chest. He gave a slight grunt as he twisted his upper body, picked the grown man up single-handedly, and tossed him across the room, right into Sasuke's opponents. The unexpected interruption made an opening for Sasuke to cut down two more of them. The last two didn't put up much of a fight once they lost the numerical advantage, leaving the boys in control of the room.

Ready to get to work, Naruto started pulling out the charges that he had been given, before Sasuke stopped him.

"This is just the control room." He explained. "The drive core is through there." He raised his hand, pointing at the sealed door. He tapped a few commands into the panel next to it, and it slid open. "Come on."

Through the door was the drive core. It was mostly alone in the room, a large sphere suspended in a tall room. A circular walkway made a ring around the core, with a staircase going up to it. Besides that, the room was empty.

Sasuke stepped through the doorway, but before Naruto could follow, the door slammed shut again. Naruto started looking for a manual override, but the heavy footsteps behind him stopped him. As he turned, he did not like what he saw. Towering over him was an Akamichi, standing at 8 feet tall, and built like a tank. Average for his race, smaller than average even. Not that Naruto was complaining. In a normal situation, a few blasts to the chest would do the trick, but unfortunately he would need to solve this with his fists if he wanted to get to Sasuke.

A deep voice boomed out from the man in front of him. "Oh put those fists down. It's not like you stand a chance here."

He took a step forwards and made a motion to grab Naruto. The blond wasn't just going to go down without a fight. He threw a mean right jab at the giant. Acting with surprising speed for a man of his size, the pirate blocked the punch with his forearm, and was actually forced backwards a few inches.

He was obviously caught off guard by the pure strength that this human had shown, and was caught in the ribs by a roundhouse kick. He grunted out a breath of air from the painful impact, but did manage to grab ahold of Naruto's leg. With no further delay, he swung Naruto around by his right leg and tossed him like a rag doll to the far wall.

The young man coughed as he picked himself up from the floor. Slamming into the wall had driven the air from his lungs, but it was slowly coming back to him. He wasn't given much time to recover, being forced to dance around the heavy blows from the giant attacking him. At one point he tried blocking a punch with his arms crossed, but the thundering blow made him regret it instantly. Instead, he took advantage of his speed and made the punches he landed count. He may have what borders on superhuman strength, but his opponent wasn't human at all. There was still no contest in who could pack more of a wallop.

As he danced around his opponent, he couldn't help but wonder about Sasuke in the next room, and the progress he must be making.

* * *

The moment the door closed behind him, Sasuke just knew that there was more to worry about than a faulty door. He heard rustling, and sure enough, a large shape swung up from the underside of the catwalk. Two long, furry arms gripped the metal grating as they flipped up to the top, maneuvering in a way that most races wouldn't be capable of. It stood to its full height, the tall, muscled body of a Sarutobi. Gray fur covered his entire body except his mouth, which stuck out slightly from the rest of his face. He stood at an imposing height, probably 6 1/2 feet, though lean in build.

The Sarutobi man gave Sasuke a smirk and crossed his arms. "Well isn't this going to be fun? An Uchiha! Everybody talks about you guys like you're something special. Want to test that out?"

"There won't be any testing." Sasuke responded, his voice cool and collected. "Simply a demonstration of Uchiha superiority."

An amused snort answered him. The monkey-man pulled a long bo-staff out from it's holster on his back. "Well I see the stories about your arrogance are true. Now lets see about those skills!"

He leapt from the balcony, swinging his pole down towards Sasuke's head, nearly succeeding in landing a hit. The target rolled to the side to dodge, and lashed out with his Chidori in the same fluid motion. It was blocked by the vertical staff, locking the two together. This pirate was no rube though, and knew the danger of his situation. As the plume of flame moved to incinerate him, he bent over backwards, allowing it to pass in front of his face. Close enough to singe hairs, not enough to hurt though.

Sasuke cut his flames and attempted a leg sweep, but it turned out completely useless. His opponent's legs had already left the ground as he shifted his weight to his hands over his head. He flipped backwards onto his feet again, giving Sasuke a kick under the chin while he was at it.

The dark haired boy grumbled some at this delay. They were working on a tight schedule, and this was throwing that way off. Hopefully Naruto would be able to use this time to open the door and give him a way out at least.

* * *

"Uuuggh!" The aforementioned blonde folded over in half around the fist of his Akamichi assailant, launching him back once again.

For the first few minutes he had been able to hold his own, dodging blows, giving the giant a few good bruises back as well. Then he had been clipped by a hay-maker that could shatter bones, and he started to have more difficulty keeping up. And the more he slowed down, the more he got hit. It was a continuous cycle, and it only ended one way, with Naruto flat out on the floor.

Given a brief moment of respite, he wiped some blood from his mouth and glanced back at the sealed room. His mind was conflicted. On one hand, he needed to finish this as quickly as possible. On the other hand, his only way of doing that would be a risk, especially if Sasuke saw.

That booming voice piped in. "Your friend can't help you. The only way for him to get out is if you can beat me." Unwittingly, the giant had just helped Naruto make a decision that would end poorly for the pirate.

He was right of course, there was no risk of Sasuke seeing what would happen next. "Well I suppose that's good. It means I can kick this up a notch."

Suddenly, he hunched over slightly, looking down at the floor. Sensing something was off, the giant took a couple steps back as he watch the boy.

The first thing he noticed was the hands. The human in front of him now sported vicious looking claws on each finger, and tuffs of what looked like orange fur were popping up at the wrists and arms of the boy. He gained significant muscle mass in his chest and arms, and his teeth began to sharpen and become more pronounced.

"Ggrrrrrrr..." The low, guttural snarl rumbled out of Naruto's chest as he raised his eyes to re-establish eye contact. His blood red, slitted orbs did plenty to unnerve the Akamichi.

Without a warning, he lunged at the pirate, raking his claws across a hastily thrown up block. Deep gashes were made in the his arm as a result, making him let out a cry of pain. Naruto followed with a left jab, impacting the man squarely on his chest. The force behind the blow staggered the giant, making him stagger backwards several steps.

Not letting up, Naruto descended on him in a flurry of blows and claws. He was faster now, and stronger too, and it was clear to see that this was no longer a remotely even fight. The few hits the Akamichi landed were shrugged off as if they were nothing, while Naruto's blows left gashes and bruises wherever they landed.

The giant could clearly see that it was only a matter of time before he would fall for good. Ever since his opponent's alarming transformation, he was tearing him apart. If he wanted to salvage the situation, he would need to do something fast.

* * *

Sasuke too, found himself on the back foot in his encounter. He may breath fire, but this Sarutobi was too nimble to catch with it, and they were nearly evenly matched in a physical contest. He didn't want to resort to it, but if they wanted to get off this ship in a timely manner, he would need to pick up the pace and overcome this adversary. The next time the two of them clashed weapons, he made his move.

When their eyes locked, the pirate was no longer looking into the black eyes of the Uchiha. They had been replaced by blood red pools, with black markings swirling around the pupil. The smooth motion of the swirling black marks seemed to draw him in, his attention being focused almost solely on the movement. The distraction cost him. He nearly acted too late, when Sasuke ran his blade up the staff towards his hands. He backed off, but his delay resulted in him losing two fingers on his right hand.

"Ahhhgg!"

It may have been a sharp sword, but cutting through the bone still hurt. Less fingers also made him less able to wield his weapon. He was still skilled, but the advantage now went to Sasuke. Another change had taken place though. In each exchange of blows, Sasuke seemed able to predict what he was going to do. He was always ready with a counter, he knew where his guard would go up, and worked around it.

Now he was feeling the pressure, and he didn't like it. In his aggravated state, he made the mistake of making eye contact once again as they locked weapons. "How?! How are you able to keep up now?!"

"Simple." Sasuke said smoothly, his eyes once again drawing the pirate into a trance. He took a deep breath, gathering heat in his belly. "The Uchiha were superior from the start."

This time he exhaled flames, the Sarutobi no longer had his mental alertness that had saved him multiple times before. Moments later, the fight was over, the smell of singed hair filled the room, mixed with much less pleasant burning smells.

The door back where he came still wasn't opened yet, so instead he got to work rigging the engine to blow. Either Naruto was an idiot who couldn't open a door, or he was running into some trouble of his own. Both were possible in Sasuke's opinion.

While the dampening field should render any power source useless, these beauties that he was setting up wouldn't be affected by that. They didn't have their own power source, they leached power from whatever they got attached too, like a parasite. Perfect for situations like this. It took about three minutes to set up the devices.

Just as he finished, he heard the door open once again. Naruto stepped in, and instantly scrunched up his face at the smell. The still smouldering pirate didn't help the scene. "Are you done?"

"No thanks to you." The Uchiha bit out, with no real malice behind his words.

"Then let's go."

On the way out, Sasuke was surprised by the blood splatters all around the control room, as well as the mountain of a man crumpled up on the floor, against the wall. The man looked like he had gotten ganged up on in a knife fight, or mauled by a wild animal. Neither scenario was possible right now. He didn't bring it up, but he did eye Naruto for a few seconds. He was hiding something.

Not that Sasuke blamed him, they barely knew each other. But he would be keeping his eyes opened for other things that were out of place.

When they got back to the ship, they saw Kakashi keeping watch over the entrance, crouched behind a barrel. He had his sniper rested on top of his cover, and the scope up against his left eye. That puzzled Naruto for a second, he had assumed there must be something wrong with that eye if he kept it covered all the time. Not that it mattered right now. Sakura had the engines running, and the two boys were glad to climb aboard and seal the door behind them.

Together, the three men raced for the cockpit, each manning their station. With the docking clamps disabled by Kakashi, there was no resistance as they left the hangar. The moment they were out of the freighter, Kakashi wasted no time in giving orders.

"Let's not give that Corvette a chance to get their footing. Take us on our approach Sasuke."

The result was Sasuke pointing the Raikiri directly at the much larger warship, and accelerating. A feeling of unease was rising up in Naruto. These people weren't actually crazy, were they?

Once they were a little ways from the cargo ship, Kakashi flipped a switch on his console, and the barge tore itself apart. The explosion started near the back of the ship, where the engines were, and spread like wildfire. Bulkheads buckled and broke apart, and flames burned up the oxygen that escaped from the cracks. In moments, a visible pulse spread through the wreck, and the ruins burst apart, scattering the ship's remains into the asteroid belt.

Without breaking stride, Kakashi began entering a series of commands. Naruto could see the Raikiri's energy readings begin to spike, and he could hear a faint sound coming from the hull. The sound was gaining intensity, until it was almost a deafening roar.

It was like being inside an innumerable flock of birds, chirping and screeching, all at once. It was a sound that Naruto distinctly remembered hearing the day before, coming from Sasuke's sword.

In his head, he finally put together the pieces of what was about to happen. "Oh shit..."

To an outside observer, the Raikiri would have looked like nothing more than a writhing mass of electricity, barreling towards the stolen Konoha ship. The pirate vessel didn't even have time to process what was happening, as the smaller ship rammed straight into them, in what looked like a suicide move. Far from suicide however, the Raikiri crashed into one side of the Sparrow Corvette, and in a blast of flame and shrapnel, tore out of the far side of the ship without a scratch. The damage done to the warship was too much, and it too began breaking apart, just like the freighter before it. In a few seconds, a large explosion marked the end of this brief, but intense encounter.

Naruto's jaw hung open as he looked disbelievingly between the two other people in the room with him. Kakashi just gave him a smile with his eyes.

"See, I told you we could handle them!" His visage became slightly more serious though as he remembered the original purpose for their visit. "Now lets see what we can do for these miners."

Still shocked, Naruto slowly began to ruefully shake his head. He was slowly getting more accustomed to these people, and he was starting to be able to see what drove them. They were wanderers, drifting about the galaxy, but if the opportunity arose, they did what they could to help people.

Naruto's slack-jawed face morphed into a slight smile. That was something he could get behind.

* * *

 **As I said, hopefully you enjoyed it, and as always, leave me a review telling me what you thought!**


	5. A Healer's Touch

**This chapter took much longer than I would have liked, but here it is. I probably wrote this thing a half a dozen times before it came out how I wanted it. Between weddings, backpacking trips, work, and other events I haven't had much time to write, but I should be able to put out a chapter or two now that most of those other things are out of the way. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Things seemed more somber aboard the Raikiri for the few days following their departure from the mining complex. At least, Naruto felt that they were. The others still seemed pretty casual about the whole affair, but there were subtle differences in how they acted.

A few less jokes and barbs were thrown around at the dinner table. A few less taunts about Naruto's incompetence floated around the cockpit. He supposed that was only natural, after how the last job had ended. Stuff like that tends to suck a little bit of the joy out of the room.

Not the space battle, where they heroically (in Naruto's opinion) fought off a band of pirates and rescued the workers under siege. That part was frankly, quite awesome. No, it was once they docked to provide assistance that the more somber nature of their assignment became clear.

* * *

From the moment those battered blast doors creaked open to allow access to the facility, the spunk had left Kakashi's crew. Inside was a mess. Most of the mining operation was tunneling through the rock of the asteroid, both searching for ore, as well as providing space for living.

The bombardment from the hijacked warship had been repelled, but not before numerous tunnels and structures had collapsed. Damage was done to several key systems, but that was the least pressing issue. The attack had casualties.

A half a dozen miners were killed in cave-ins before they could be rescued, and dozens others had been hurt by things like falling debris and power overloads. Even the healthy population was in danger, as food stores had run scarce after the majority of the storage had been cut off from them by cave-ins. It was possible that the food was still safe, but they had no way to reach it presently.

Supplies that could be spared where unloaded from the Raikiri for the miners, Subaki Corporation would pay them back later. Then the crew got to work.

Sasuke stayed with the ship, keeping guard. They may be here to help, but Kakashi wasn't naive, he always wanted eyes on his property. Kakashi himself left to speak with the director of the facility to get both parties up to speed on what had happened and what could be done. The crew member in the most demand however, was Sakura Haruno. With injured people filling the cramped hallways, and woefully insufficient medical staff to treat them all effectively, a competent medic was worth their weight in gold. Fortunately for the miners, Sakura was far more than competent.

When she was in sight of the makeshift infirmary, she didn't waste a second before she took control of the scene. Rushing to a patient lying nearby, she checked him over. Bandages covered a large portion of his head, he was probably struck on the head by a falling rock. Without taking her eyes off the patient, she barked out an order to a nurse nearby, all the while checking the patient's pupils for signs of a concussion.

Naruto watched the scene play out before him in amazement. He had tagged along with Sakura to give her help if she needed it, but he had not expected the warm and bubbly girl to transform so completely in the presence of the injured.

When she was sure his life wasn't in immediate danger, she would move on to the next patient, and then the next. Sometimes just administering a pain killer or bandaging a wound, to others giving stitches or setting a broken limb. For hours she worked, among all the sobbing and wailing, never taking her eyes off of the injured.

By this time, Naruto was starting to feel quite tired, and he had just been watching, or occasionally fetching a patient a glass of water. Sakura had been on her feet nonstop, he could tell she was likely far more exhausted than he was. Ducking out of the room for just a minute, he found something that he thought could help.

He caught Sakura as she was turning to go check on a patient she had treated earlier, to make sure she was comfortable. Rather than letting her go and do what she had intended, he took her arm and held out a small tray for her. On it was a small bowl of soup and a portion of bread, with a glass of water on the side.

"Here, take this. You could use it."

She was obviously appreciative of the gesture, but she still made a move to get past him. "That's sweet, but I can't. I have people to help still."

Naruto wasn't going to relent however. "I'm serious, Sakura. You aren't going to be able to help other people if you don't help yourself." He gestured around the room. "You've already addressed everyone who was in imminent danger, you have time to take five seconds and eat a meal.

He released her arm and used that hand to clear off a box. Motioning at the now cleared box, he gave a simple command. "Sit."

The engineer/medic hybrid looked conflicted, almost like she was going to try to ignore him and push through to continue her work. She must have realized however that Naruto had made a very valid point, and that forcing her way past him would only cause a disturbance for the injured people trying to rest.

So, she relented. Settling herself down on the box, she took the tray from him and started on her meal. "Did you get any food for yourself?"

Naruto just smiled. "Nah, I haven't earned it quite yet."

Sakura snorted at the irony of the person who insisted she ate, skipping out on dinner. "You haven't eaten since lunch, just like me. I'm sure you worked up an appetite on that freighter." Her small, but strong hand tore off a piece of her bread and handed it to him. "Here."

Naruto debated refusing, but eventually shrugged and accepted. He even went so far as to lean forwards and dunk his bread into her soup before eating it.

"Hey!" She chastised him, playfully swatting his arm. "You got crumbs in it!"

He scoffed. "So? That's the best way to eat it!"

A rueful shake of the head later, and Sakura had returned to her meal. It didn't take her long to eat, really. Just a couple of minutes. Afterwards she thanked Naruto for the food, and continued making her rounds.

The whole exchange almost seemed like it hadn't happened. None of the patients seemed to mind that they had to wait four more minutes to be checked in on. If it wasn't for the now empty tray in Naruto's hand, he would have no proof that that little moment had ever taken place.

It was strange, he thought. That little action he had taken had made an effect, he knew that for sure. Sakura was refreshed, and the injured would benefit from a higher level of care, from a doctor who was more focused. By his simple act of kindness, he had indirectly improved the circumstances of several dozen people. And yet, there was no proof that was true. None of the people on those beds would know it. No one else could see it. Only he saw it.

Unbidden, a memory of a time long passed passed before his eyes, filling his ears and mind.

 _"It's not about getting the credit, Naruto. I'm doing this because I want to make somebody's life better."_ _A warm, masculine voice spoke to him. He could almost feel the caring hand that his father rested on his shoulder, even after all these years._

 _"Son, no one needs to see what you do to make it count. When you help people, even though nobody may see it, you've made the galaxy a better place." A different voice this time. The smooth, delicate sound coming from behind him. In Naruto's mind, another hand came to rest on his other shoulder. "You will know that you've done the right thing, and that's enough."_

The scene from his past started to fade, the last of the woman's words echoing through his head. Brushing away the trace of a tear before anyone saw it, he couldn't help but smile.

"You were right. I guess you always were... mom."

* * *

The metallic clanking of heavy boots on the walkway that circled the cargo area rang out without letup. For the past forty minutes he had been keeping up a steady jog, circling round and round. With Sasuke up front, and Sakura in her room, the only person present was Kakashi, who was lounging on the floor below on a foldable lawn chair, reading a book.

There was a few times when Naruto was sure he had caught the silver haired man giving him an irritated glance for all the noise he was making, but if he was actually bothered, he would have spoken up. That was one thing about life on a ship, you shared the same space. Planet-side, you could go for a walk, take a trip into town, or even go camping. There were all kinds of things to do as alone time. Living aboard a vessel was entirely different, you needed to be willing to put up with others around, especially when they're doing something important like exercising.

Before long, Naruto's timer gave him a beep, letting him know an hour had passed. Wiping the trickle of sweat from his brow, he took the lift down and looked for a spot to sit down and rest. Without Naruto noticing, Kakashi had unfolded a second chair and gestured for him to have a seat.

Nodding his gratitude, the blond plunked down into the chair and leaned back into it. There they sat, in relative silence, until Kakashi posed a question.

"The other day, you said you grew up on a Konoha ship, right?"

As soon as the words had left the captain's mouth. Naruto was wishing he had just went back to his room after jogging. This would surely lead to a series of questions that he did not want to be answering, especially now that he knew what kind of position his employer used to hold. On the other hand though, he really couldn't skirt around the issue without making himself seem suspicious. Kakashi had him, and he knew it.

"Uhh yeah. I did." Not volunteering anything more than needed.

Kakashi seemed to recognize his hesitance, but continued working towards his goal, whatever that was. "I'm curious how it was that happened. As a military organization, children aren't typically allowed on board, let alone for long periods of time."

Once again, Naruto answered vaguely, not giving any more than he had too. "It was only a research ship, so I guess they weren't too worried about my parents raising me on board."

In apparent understanding, the captain nodded, while subtly digging deeper. "Your parents must have been pretty important to the ship for them to do that, rather than just taking a paternity/maternity leave."

"Yeah, I guess you could say they were." The further this went, the more Naruto began to clam up.

Of course Kakashi had a thorough understanding of how things worked in the military. He had held a position that was outranked by only one person, short of the royal family. He knew everything there was to know about how Konoha did things, and he knew this; Naruto's parents must have held serious sway. Not just on the ship, but in the organization as a whole.

The fact that it was a research vessel narrowed it down, they were somewhat of a rarity in the Konoha fleet. Typically research, even military research, was done by a different branch of the Fire Alliance government. There were a handful of exceptions of course, but they were few and far between. Between that, having seriously influential parents, and his age, Kakashi had essentially concluded his little inquiry.

He only had one more question, to drive in the final nail. "Have you ever heard of the RKS (Royal Konoha Starship) Hiraishin?"

Naruto's face turned to stone, and his stomach sank alike. He knew. Kakashi knew exactly what he hoped that no one would ever know. Feeling no more need to answer the questions, he just looked at the time and excused himself. "Sakura said she would finally have time to give me a checkout today, as a baseline. I should go see her."

As he stood and turned to leave, Kakashi made no move to stop him. He had what he had set out to find. He only gave him a little wave, and a few parting words.

"Talk to you later, Mr. Uzumaki."

* * *

Four soft knocks on the metal door brought Sakura's attention from the novel in her lap, to the person in the hall.

"One sec!"

Marking the page that she had left off, she set the book on her desk and opened the door.

"Oh, hey Naruto! Ready for your checkup?" She answered, just as chipper as ever.

He gave her a little bit of a smile. "Yeah, that'd be good."

Something about the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, or the preoccupied look in his eyes made Sakura hesitate. "Is everything alright?"

A dismissive wave of the hand answered her. "Yeah, I was just remembering something. I'm good though."

After a second or two, she just nodded and started leading him to the med bay. Whatever was on his mind was likely none of her business.

When they got to their destination, Sakura motioned for the blonde to hop up on one of the beds and make himself comfortable. She cracked open one of the cabinets and withdrew some of her equipment. It took her a few minutes to get set up, so her and Naruto made a little small talk in the meantime.

Eventually, Naruto asked, "So what made you want to take up medicine?"

Sakura stuck her bottom lip out a little and shrugged. "Nothing too drastic. Back when I was in school, my home world was visited by Tsunade Senju, who was giving seminars on medical practices. It was more curiosity than anything that made me attend, I was probably half the age of everyone else there. But something about it just... clicked. I liked what I learned. Even when she left, I kept with it, and eventually I took some schooling on it."

Naruto seemed impressed by that story. "Wow, not everyone can say they've been taught be THE Tsunade Senju. That's pretty cool."

She just laughed at that. "It's not as if I was her student or anything, I just attended some lectures." She shot Naruto a conspiring look from the corner of her eye. "But yeah, it was pretty cool."

The equipment was set up and ready to go by now, so without any further delay, the checkup began. It started with a physical examination, reflexes, hearing, eyesight and the like. She seemed to pay special attention to his pulse and heartbeat, likely confirming that it actually works just fine. Reasonable, Naruto supposed, after what he had told her the other day. All were passed with flying colours. Next, Sakura took a small sample blood from his arm and set it in some kind of contraption. A bio scanner was her next weapon of choice as she turned back to him while his blood sample was tested.

Before she got to work, something in her peripheral made her do a double take. She leaned in, inspecting the place where she had taking her blood sample. Not so much as a pinprick was visible on his skin. Before she turned on her scanner, she grabbed a scalpel.

"I'm just going to test something."

Before Naruto could protest, she ran the scalpel lightly across his skin on his forearm, leaving a shallow cut, barely more than a scratch. Turning on the scanner, she watched the cellular activity around the injury. She couldn't help but gasp as the cut slowly closed before her eyes. The readings on her device showed massive amounts of cellular division, healing the damage in a matter of a couple moments.

"What the hell?"

Naruto couldn't help but let a resigned sigh escape his lips. All of these details about him would have been so much easier to keep on a crew that took less of a personal interest in him. But here he was, having all sorts of things dug up into the open, in succession.

"It's a family trait, we have rapid healing."

"No kidding!" She checked her readings again and saw the same numbers. Not to mention the fresh, unblemished skin on Naruto's arm. She shook her head to get over what she saw. While it's true it wasn't exactly as strange as some race's abilities like the Uchiha, and it was nothing comparable to the Yamanaka or Nara on the 'strange' scale, it was especially surprising to find on a human.

A sound made her turn and examine the findings on the blood. Most of what she saw was good. A slight vitamin D deficiency, but that was easily remedied. There was one part that made her scratch her head more than anything.

Without looking back to the man on the bed, she asked, "Do you know of any non-humans in your family, maybe a few generations back?"

Scrunching his face up, Naruto thought back. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "No, all humans. What is it?"

"Well, it's just this-" She sighed, trying to explain it. "It's in your genome. Most of it lines up with the normal human range, but this-" she waved at a portion of the screen "doesn't make sense. It's like it's constantly changing, in some kind of flux."

Naruto's lips made an O at that. "Ahh, that. It's a side effect of the heart transplant." Sakura's face told him to elaborate. "My body wanted to reject the foreign tissue, so I was given something to help my body to adapt and accept it. It made my genome more flexible."

The very idea of what he was saying baffled the pink haired girl. Those were no simple anti-rejection drugs, that kind of medicine was entirely unheard of. "Would you know how I could get a hold of those doctors? Something like that sounds extremely complicated, and it would help me a lot if I could get some more info."

This time Naruto shook his head. "No actually, I can't. They're all dead now."

The abruptness of the statement took Sakura by surprise. Something that she found happening more and more, the more she learned about this newest addition to the crew.

Naruto followed up, "I'd rather not talk about it."

Not wanting to disrespect his wishes, she just nodded and moved to file his blood work.

"From what I can tell, you should be good to go. But I will say this, you're a hard person to give a checkup. Nothing about you makes sense."

This got a laugh from him. "The more you know about me, the more true that is!"

Standing up off the bed, he made towards the door, intending to head back to his room. The girl made no move to stop him, so he gathered she was all done. "See you later!"

A few steps later and he was once again settling down on his bed, reflecting on the day. It felt like every day with these people managed to bring up some kind of detail from his past that he hadn't thought of in years. Hell, Kakashi all but confirmed that he knew exactly who he was. And yet, nothing felt like it had changed. If anything, it almost seemed like the man was just satisfying his own curiosity. And Sakura only seemed to inquire because she wanted to be able to treat him, should something come up.

That brought a question to mind. Did it really matter if he opened up to these people? Nothing bad seemed to be coming his way, even now. It was with these thoughts in his mind, that Naruto drifted asleep.

* * *

 **There we have it! it's a little shorter than the others, but the main purpose of this chapter was to wrap up the story arc of this first mission. A few more details were given on the circumstances surrounding Naruto, but they'll be the last hints given for a little while. At least as far as his family life goes, I plan on having more about the Nine Tails come up in the next mission. Tell me what you thought, and hopefully I'll be back with a new chapter soon!**


	6. Into the Wilds

**And I'm back, sending the crew of the Raikiri on a brand new adventure! Hopefully you guys like reading about the outdoors, because that's where the next couple chapters are going to be spent. I'm just going to say this beforehand, just in case anyone has a problem with it later; In real life, yes, plant life would be different on each individual planet. The same species of plant wouldn't grow on multiple worlds without being artificially introduced. That said, in this universe they do, because of reasons that will come up later in the story. With that out of the way, enjoy!**

* * *

The routine way of life aboard the Raikiri seemed to have a way of distorting Naruto's sense of time passing. Without him really realizing it, three weeks had passed since he had joined on. They had done five jobs in all that time, including their first mission to that mining colony. Besides that, they had done two cargo runs, surveyed a small region of space for a particular mineral, and taken an old man to a nearby planet to visit his grandchildren.

While none of the following jobs had quite the level of excitement as the first, Naruto didn't mind one bit. They were a great way to refine his skills as the crew navigator, and get established in his new way of life.

In the past, Naruto had never really taken a job with the intention of keeping it long term. He didn't want his life to become stagnant, so he was always on the move. But by the nature of what they did on this ship, they never stayed anywhere for too long, and they were always doing something new. The idea of sticking around for a while actually appealed to him.

Speaking of new things, they were only hours away from landing at the staging area for their next rather odd job. Kakashi had told them all just that morning over breakfast about their newest commission.

* * *

"Who's the employer?" Sasuke asked, leaning his elbow against the table.

"He's an old colleague of mine. One of the Akamichi leaders, and a pretty high ranked officer in the Konoha brass."

Sakura cared less about the 'who', and more about the 'what'. "So what exactly does he want us to do when we get there? I've never even heard of a planet called Hanataro."

The silver haired man spread his hands as he explained. "Hanataro is considered sacred by the Akamich, Nara, and Yamanaka. It was the planet where their ancestors originally allied themselves together. The entire planet is a natural reserve, with very strict limits on what technology is allowed. Only one settlement exists, with the rest of the world being untamed wilderness.

"The youth of the three races participate in a sort of trial, when they reach a certain age. They're put into groups of three, one Akamichi, one Nara, and one Yamanaka, to survive in the wilds for three weeks. My old friend's son and his two teammates are currently undergoing their trial. Unfortunately, something came up, and they're needed back home, asap."

Now it was Naruto's turn for a question. "So why do they need us to do that? Couldn't he just send some of the people under him to take care of it?"

Kakashi shook his head. "The nature of them being called back home is very sensitive, sending in his subordinates to interfere with a trial would draw too much attention. However, in recent years people of other races have been allowed to attempt the trail, as a sort of cultural experience. A small crew like ours would blend right in with those kinds of people, to go in and retrieve our objective without causing a stir."

The parameters of the mission as of yet, didn't seem like anything too hard to deal with. Though something that Kakashi had said earlier made Sasuke a little cautious. "You said there was restrictions on what technology we can bring. Do you know any more details?"

The corner of the captain's eyes turned upwards in a show of amusement at the question. "Why Sasuke, are you starting to get addicted to your devices?"

Sasuke just grumbled his annoyance at the flippant attitude, but Kakashi did eventually elaborate. "The spaceport officials can fill us in more, but I know that they don't allow firearms. We'll be able to take the bikes for transportation, but only through certain regions. Our swords and Sakura's hammer we should be able to bring, but only if the power source is disconnected. Sorry Naruto, your Rasengan will have to stay behind."

The blonde just shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. So what's the general game plan? Do we know where they are?"

Pulling out his data pad, Kakashi brought up a map of the planet in question. "Somewhat. We know they're in this valley, in the mountains on the eastern reach of the main continent. We'll use the bikes to cross the grasslands between the port and the mountains, but then we'll need to proceed on foot. The mountains are very steep, and the valleys between are full of dense forests. It'll probably take us about three days to reach the valley, then we can start looking for their camp. I doubt it'll take us more than a day or two to find them once we're there."

"So we'll be gone for at least a week, is what your saying?" Sakura asked.

Putting down the map, the captain gave an enthusiastic clap of his hands. "That's right! Pack your backpacks, we're going camping!"

* * *

Hanataro's spaceport was possibly the cleanest Naruto had seen in his adult life. Being off the beaten trail, it was by no means busy, only having a handful of people in the halls. Not only was it spacious enough to comfortably accommodate the Akamichi giants, it was beautifully designed with an elegant simplicity; Yamanaka architecture by Naruto's estimate. Lots of white, with simple designs accentuated by the odd splash of color whether from a painting, or a bouquet of flowers.

Despite the nature of the spaceport, there were no Nara in sight. He supposed though that they may have separate halls with less lighting.

The crew had already dealt with the docking officials, with their gear unloaded from the ship, and the Raikiri put into lockdown until they returned. Now they were on their way to the immigration desk. The four crewmen walked at a brisk pace, eager to get underway.

Before they arrived, Kakashi gave them a last minute refresher. "Remember, they'll probably require one of us to undergo a mind sweep from a Yamanaka, to make sure we're really here for the trial. I know how to hide details from their searches, I'll volunteer. Then we'll go and pick up our equipment and get out there."

Nods all around signalled their understanding. The next corner they took set them in front of the official's desk. In fact, there were close to a dozen desks, all spread across the wide opening. It must not be peak travel season, as only about half were open for business, and only one other was being used at that moment.

A tall strawberry-blonde woman stood behind the marble counter that they approached, her pale skin complimenting her light hair, held back in a bun. Her features were delicate and sharp, her ears even coming to slight points on top. All clear signs of Yamanaka heritage.

When she caught sight of them she gave them a warm smile. "Welcome, travellers! You're here to attempt the trail, I assume?"

Kakashi stepped forwards to do his part. "That's right, we've got our papers right here."

He slid their documents to the official, which she ran through their computer. Afterwards, she returned them to the man. "Looks like that all checks out! Though I must tell you, we do a psychic screening of aliens who come to attempt the trial, for security purposes. One of you will need to follow me to that side room there."

Once again, Kakashi spoke for the group. "Alright, you can check me."

The woman smiled, but shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, but we don't accept the first volunteer for these screenings. However unlikely, we wouldn't want someone who has a way to circumvent the mind sweep to step up for their crew."

If Kakashi was any other human, he likely would have looked slightly surprised, maybe even nervous. The Hatake man played it off like a pro though. In fact, if Naruto didn't know for a fact that this was not the plan, he'd have thought Kakashi had seen this coming all along.

"Makes sense I suppose. I guess one of you three will need to do this."

The three younger spacers shared a hesitant look amongst them.

It was the spaceport official who spoke up next. "You don't have to go through with the check of course, but you will be unable to leave the port if you don't."

A second or two later, Naruto shrugged and stepped forwards. "Alright, you can check me."

Only those who knew him well would have noticed the slight hesitation in Kakashi's eye. It only lingered there for a second, before he nodded at the blond.

"Wonderful! Please follow me. You three please wait here, we'll be back in just a moment!"

The woman lead Naruto to a doorway along the side of the room, taking him into a small room with two chairs, facing each other. She gestured for him to take a seat.

"Alright, this may feel uncomfortable, but don't worry. It's not painful, or invasive. I'll just be doing a passive sweep of your intentions for coming here."

Naruto nodded at her explanation and closed his eyes. Across from him, the woman sat and put her hands in front of her, her fingertips and thumbs touching, making a small loop.

There was a slight pause, before Naruto felt her consciousness rush into his mind.

* * *

Sasuke shot Kakashi a slightly accusatory look once the two blonds had left. "You know something about him that we don't, don't you? You never would have let him volunteer for that unless you knew he was secure."

Sakura seemed to share a similar train of thought, judging from her crossed arms and raised eyebrow.

Spreading his hands in an innocent gesture, Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe, who knows? I imagine all of us know something about our newest member that the others don't. But I for one, do not spread gossip."

He spoke the truth, and both of them knew it. Sakura thought of the peculiar checkup she had given him. Of course she respected doctor-patient confidentiality, so those findings were for her alone.

Sasuke on the other hand, thought back to the body of that Akamichi, aboard the pirate ship. He conceded Kakashi's point, it didn't really matter to him what Naruto's story was, so long as he didn't blow this.

All their fears reached a climax when they heard the door click open, revealing the two who had just went inside. Once they rejoined the other three Raikiri crewmen, the official smiled once again. "Well, everything checks out for you! Enjoy your visit to Hanataro!"

All four muttered out a 'thank you' on their way past her. Once they were out of earshot, Sakura glanced over her shoulder to Naruto. "So you know how to hide things from Yamanakas now?"

Naruto nodded, but didn't make eye contact. "Yeah."

While that ended that conversation, Kakashi, who was walking at the head of the group, held a knowing smile on his face.

* * *

The town surrounding the spaceport really had nothing of interest to delay them from beginning their journey. Besides the necessary services and housing for the staff, there was nothing extra, save for a small theater, and a bar or two. And so, they set off.

Their bikes had been transported to the edge of town for them, along with their gear. The bikes themselves were standard hovering craft, with a seat, a cargo compartment on the back, and handlebars on the front. A small windscreen shielded the rider's face, and two stabilizing rods extended out the front. Naruto wasn't exactly an expert on the subject, but he could tell that these were a sporty model, built for speed and performance. That said, they sacrificed some of the comfort that other designs would have had. They were made for getting things done, not luxurious cruises.

Each of the speeders had some personal touches to it, modifying it from stock. Sakura's was painted a shade of pink to match her hair, and a decal of her namesake was near the front, it's pink petals swirling around, apparently fluttering towards the back of the machine. While it wasn't visible to the eye, Naruto had no doubt that the mechanic had stuffed some extra features into the guts of her bike as well.

Sasuke's bike was a meaner looking beast, jet black in colour, with a design of a navy blue dragon coiled around length of it, facing forwards. Smoke drifted back from it's nostrils, and a pillar of flame was painted around the two front stabilizers.

Personally, Naruto thought that both were very cool to look at. A little bit on the nose, considering the riders, but he didn't mind. Maybe Naruto just had a bit of a flare for slightly cheesy designs.

Kakashi's by contrast, was much more subtle. The bike was a simple silver colour, and on either side of the fuel tank was an odd design, possibly a family crest. On the back were two names, written in small letters. 'Rin Nohara' was the first. The second was 'Obito Asahi'. Naruto saw that 'Asahi' was spelt different than usual, the new spelling meaning 'Morning Fire'. An Uchiha name, he realized.

His own ride leaned more towards the first two by way of design, being much flashier than the captain's. He had only just gotten it painted a week ago, and he was immensely proud of it. The entire thing was sunset orange, radiating light and warmth. Towards the centre it got brighter, to a small point that was almost yellow. From that point, nine tendrils spread out, twisting and swirling, making it into a spiral shape. It may have looked like a sunset to an everyday observer, but it had more meaning than that to Naruto.

In the cargo compartment of each was the respective crewman's camping supplies, including tall hiking backpacks, high grade sleeping backs, and small one person tents. Kakashi hadn't been exaggerating when he said they were stingy when it came to what technology they allowed onto the planet. Besides the bikes they had next to nothing that ran off of a power source, flashlights being nearly the only exception.

Before they fired up their speeders and departed, they each took a moment to look around them. Their backs were turned to the small settlement, in front of them lay untamed nature. In this region, as far as they could see, from horizon to horizon, were grasslands. Thigh high grass and wildflowers gently swayed in the wind, rippling patterns dancing across the endless expanse before them. Greens and golds, blending with the splashes of colour from the flowers.

From their vantage, the odd river valley could be seen, with more shrubs and trees growing closer to the water, making darker green lines across the otherwise bare plains. Above them was a clear blue sky, only a handful of puffy clouds drifting lazily about, going nowhere fast.

It was morning on Hanataro, meaning that the sun was only a small ways above the horizon. It sat slightly to the south of due east, showing that they were in the northern hemisphere. The mountains that they were headed to weren't even in sight, demonstrating the shear size of the expanse they needed to cross to reach their destination.

In that same vein of thought, Kakashi was the first to break his gaze from the endless prairies. He would have time to look while they rode. He swung his leg over the seat of his bike, perching himself on it.

No words were exchanged, the other three just followed suit. One by one, they fired up their engines, creating a dull roar as they began to levitate about three feet above ground. Once all their helmets were securely in place, Kakashi gave a simple hand signal, and they were off, accelerating towards the east with the whine of their engines echoing across the empty expanse before them.

* * *

At speeds that sometimes exceed 300 km/h, you cover ground very fast. And yet, six hours later not much had changed for the four travellers. It was still the same, vast grasslands surrounding them on all sides. For a couple hours they had passed through an area of rolling hills, with a forest barely in sight to the south adding some variety to the scene, but it was a short lived change.

This planet operates on a 29 hour day, meaning that they were approaching noon, and a much anticipated lunch. It was apparent that all the riders were of the same opinion in this matter, as twenty minutes later, when they came close to a river river that was lightly lined with small trees and brush, Kakashi pulled off from the straight line he had been riding since that morning. He eventually set his speeder down about sixty meters from the water, still in the grassy fields.

It was a good spot to stop for lunch, as there was both firewood and water easily accessible. Because of the limits on technology, a fire was the only way to cook a hot meal. While they hadn't packed any food that was too heavy or that could spoil, there was some decent dehydrated options that they could choose from.

Groans of discomfort could be heard all around as the crew dismounted, stretching their legs and backs. Six hours was a long time to spend sitting at the best of times, let alone hunched over a bike. It may be beautiful scenery and an exhilarating ride, but it was not exactly relaxing.

Only the cooking supplies were unpacked, as this was only going to be a brief rest. Sasuke happened to be the master chef of the bunch, so without even being asked, he began setting up. Sakura and Kakashi started foraging for dry wood nearby in the brush, gathering sticks and small branches.

Naruto's attention however, was grabbed by something in the opposite direction. A faint scent caught his nose, and lead him to start rummaging around in the grass. In less than a minute, he found what he had been looking for. The small plant that he was looking at had a handful of leaves sprouting from the ground, each one in the shape of a tube, coming to a point at the top. As a test, he tore off the tip of one of the stalks and cautiously put it in his mouth. After chewing for a few seconds, he let a grin spread across his face. Apparently this camping trip wouldn't be entirely without fresh food.

Now that he knew what he was dealing with, he grabbed the plant by its base, and gently uprooted it, bringing a large bulb up from underground, pale yellow in colour. Nearby he saw a number of similar plants, so pulled a couple more, and started over towards Sasuke, who had since sat down on the ground to arrange the ingredients he would be using.

The Uchiha saw him approach, holding the plants in question and cocked an eyebrow. "What are those?"

Naruto idly wiped the last bit of dirt off of them and set them in front of the cook. "It's a root vegetable that grows wild in these kinds of plains. I thought you could use it for lunch. The tops are edible too!"

Eyeing the plants with what could have been either distain or mistrust, Sasuke seemed to weigh the options. Reaching out, he sampled a small part of the root and stalk, before setting it back down.

"We'll see."

He had to fight not to roll his eyes at Sasuke's stubborn attitude. They both knew full well that he would include them in the meal, he just didn't want to seem like he was taking a suggestion from Naruto.

Having just dropped an armload of wood, Sakura looked over at Naruto's find with interest. "Well that's handy! Do you know a lot of wild plants to eat?"

Proud of his skill in the area, Naruto flashed a toothy grin. "Yeah, quite a few! I've had to live of the land more than once."

Sakura waved an arm towards a few of the bushes she had just been searching around. "It you know what's edible and what isn't, I saw some berries and mushrooms over there. Give it a look, maybe we won't need to eat as much of our rations as we thought!"

So, he went over to inspect the plants that Sakura had told him about. He was rewarded with a decent armload of mushrooms that would add a nice bonus to the vegetables. The berries that she had seen however weren't something that humans and Uchiha could eat, so he left them for the birds. He wasn't too disappointed though, he had still gotten a fair haul to bolster their meal.

Once enough wood had been gathered, Sasuke put his magic into action. A puff of flame from his lips ignited the wood pile, and he grabbed the ingredients. First he took a packet of dehydrated red meat, and boiled it in a pot of water to re-hydrate it. As that was simmering on one side of the fire, he started to fry the neatly sliced mushrooms and root vegetables in a pan, adding in small amounts of oil and seasoning. Just giving it enough heat to brown the contents, he pulled it back and checked on the meat.

Inside the pot, nearly all the water had been reabsorbed, meaning it was finished. So to wrap things up, he added the meat to the pan with the other ingredients and fried it for a few minutes more, to spread the flavours around.

By the time he had finished his preparations, the other three were more than hungry enough to scarf down what was served to them. It was a nice bonus that what Sasuke had cooked up happened to be absolutely delicious. It didn't take long and the food was all gone, with everyone fully satisfied.

They spent a few minutes reclined around their fire, basking in the afterglow of a home cooked meal, before they got right back to work. In a manner of minutes the dishes were cleaned, the equipment was packed away, and their water containers had been refilled.

With a quick double check to make sure they had everything, they once again mounted, and rode off towards the east.

* * *

When the sun had finally finished it's journey across the sky, the Raikiri crew were more that pleased to get a reprieve for the night. The last half of the day had been just as monotonous as the first, and ended much the same was well. They stopped by a river to set up camp for the night, once again providing water and firewood, giving Sasuke what he needed to cook their supper.

Being that they were still in the same kind of ecosystem, Naruto was able to find more of those roots from lunch, though no mushrooms were around this time. Supper was a short and sweet affair, and when it was over, no one spared any time before crawling into their tents and wrapping up in a sleeping bag.

Just before Naruto zipped his entrance closed, he took a moment to stare out to the east. Dusk was falling, with the sun far behind him, casting long shadows all around. On the far horizon, small rises could be seen, breaking up the otherwise flat line. Mountains. If he had to guess, they'd probably reach them by the middle of the day tomorrow, where they'd have to continue on foot.

Just the thought of mountain trails, thick trees and cliff faces brought Naruto's mind back to years before. Without realizing it, his fingernails had grown into claws as he clenched his hands. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, his hands reverted to normal. Now wasn't the time for those kinds of thoughts. With a swish of his arm, he closed his tent flap and crawled into his sleeping bag to rest. It had been a long day, and there would be another tomorrow.

All four of them dropped asleep quite quickly. They knew that tomorrow would be strenuous once they left the bikes, and these mountains were know to house numerous beasts of incredible size. There was a reason it was considered a trial to survive out there, the mountains were by no means safe. Even the giant Akamichi had to be on guard when predators the size of a small cabin roamed the mountainside.

And so they all slept, regaining their strength for the day to come. Most of them didn't realize that the most dangerous beast they'd encounter on this trip was sleeping in the tent next to theirs.

* * *

 **For those of you who have been itching to see the extent that Kurama plays a role in Naruto's life, you're about to find out. The next couple chapters will give a bit more of an idea of just what Naruto can do, nine-tails wise. Until then, let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'll be back soon, I swear!**


	7. Reunion

**Well I must say, this has taken much longer than I thought it would. My real life kind of took off for a while there, which was good for me, but not for anyone who wants to read more of this story. Fortunately I've had a new wave of inspiration and wrote up my longest chapter yet! So, let's see where this goes!**

* * *

True to Naruto's prediction, the first few hours of the day showed a marked difference in the size of the mountains on the horizon. In the opening hours of the day, as the sun rose from the horizon, so did the jagged peaks that were their destination. The landscape changed in other ways too.

The previously rich plains were slowly becoming rocky, with the soft grass fields being replaced by hardier plants and flowers that would thrive in the shallow layer of topsoil. Hills become taller, and ahead they could see the forest beginning to pop up from the ground. Tall coniferous trees blanketed the hills that sat at the foot of the mountains, sprawling along the border of the two distinct biomes.

Fortunately though there were still enough bare patches in the low valleys that the bikes could still pass, unencumbered by the forests. The method of riding took a turn for the better at this point, in Naruto's opinion. Rather than just setting a straight line, they now went slightly slower and followed the natural curves and dips that the landscape did. It did wonders to break up the monotony as they drifted in and out of the low foothills, and as the hours past, the small outlying mountains.

But as the sun got closer and closer to the center of the sky, the more careful they had to be. The trees got thicker, and the mountains got bigger and steeper. The stone giants towered over them, peaks easily surpassing the few clouds that were floating across the blue sky. Many of the mountains still had snow dusting the tops of them, despite it being the warm season, with the tallest peaks being nearly covered in enormous glaciers.

The trees and other greenery only rose part of the way up the peaks, coming to a stop around halfway up the average mountain. Beyond the tree-line was bare rock in varying colours and formations.

While some of the valleys and openings between mountains were vast and spacious, that didn't help Kakashi's crew for too long. Their destination didn't follow the main pass through the mountain range for long, instead taking a sharp detour to the north. Distance wise, it wasn't far at all. But due to the narrow valley and no open space, they would have to continue on foot.

Kakashi recognized the landmark that had been described to him that marked the entrance to the trail that their targets were on just after noon. Signalling his team, he angled his bike towards it and looked for the best spot to set down for lunch, and to leave their bikes while they were gone.

The spot he eventually settled on was a small open area alongside a clear stream of mountain runoff, gently rolling over a bed of polished rocks. As they got closer, the three younger spacefarers realized that the most likely reason he chose this spot were the shapes tucked in under some low hanging branches nearby. Three speeder-bikes, covered in canvas covers were resting there, likely from the group that they were looking for.

Following the example of the captain, they brought their machines to a halt beside the already parked vehicles. Emptying out all the supplies they would need and fastening them to their backpacks, each crew member pulled a thick canvas cover from their storage hold and used it to cover over their bike.

As he was fastening his tent and sleeping bag to the side of his pack, Naruto took some time to look up and around him. He had set himself down on a rock near where Sasuke was setting up the cooking fire, with his backpack sitting on the ground between his knees.

The clear area that they had been riding through, and were now parked in, stretched out a long distance back to the west, before disappearing behind the reaching arms of the tall evergreens surrounding them. It continued on as well to the east, allowing travel even deeper into the mountain range.

The entire picture matched the beauty of the rest of the planet, with the sky a crystal clear blue, interrupted only by puffs of white. The stone peaks and cliffs that surrounded them had a special way of making him feel especially small in the grand scheme of things. If it wasn't for the fact that they were being paid to be there, one would almost think it was a vacation.

"Pay attention and eat your damn food!" Sasuke's abrupt voice cut into his musings. That was the other telltale sign this was no vacation. Sasuke was there.

Apparently in the time that Naruto had been staring into space and packing his bag, the Uchiha had finished frying up their latest meal. Without any further ceremony, all parties crammed the meal down their throats, eager to get moving. Daylight was a commodity they couldn't afford to waste much of.

Everyone had already practiced how they would pack back on the ship, so it didn't take long for everyone to be ready. In a situation like this, keeping your pack as light as possible was essential. Once you got six hours into the woods, you felt every single pound.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke had their blades strapped onto their packs in positions where they could easily be drawn, but also wouldn't catch on branches or shrubbery. Sakura had elected to leave her hammer behind on the ship, as it weighed as much as a sledge hammer, and wouldn't have any practical use in the woods. It was significantly less effective as a weapon without the power source anyways. She and Naruto had both packed axes for chopping wood, as well as for self defense.

Everyone spent a few brief minutes checking over each other's packs, and when they were satisfied that nothing crucial was being left behind, they departed. They started by following the stream up the valley that it came running down, taking off single-file towards the north. While the trail would snake around mountains, cliffs, and other obstacles as the days went by, the end destination was almost straight north of where they were now.

And so, with this change in traveling method, the crew exchanged hour after hour of plains, for hour after hour of trees and rocks. The valleys that they were traveling in were mostly forested by thick conifers, blocking out their view of any sky or mountains around them. The ground itself was mossy, dotted with small berry bushes and ferns.

Every so often they would pass through a small clearing that would let them see the mountains around them, but the majority of the rest of the day was spent hiking through a seemingly endless maze of trees, pushing on towards an objective far out of sight. The trail hadn't got steep yet, with only gentle inclines so far, but the added weight of the packs were taking their toll on the Raikiri crew. Not that any of them were unable to keep up a brisk pace, but it was by no means a breezy walk in the woods.

Evening eventually crept along, casting longer shadows, and cooling the air to where it held a crisp, but refreshing edge. As the light dwindled, the team decided that it would be best to pitch their tents and wait until morning before proceeding. They set down in a place with just enough room for their small one-man tents between the tree trunks. Taking only their sleeping bags and clothes into their tents with them, the food was left a short ways away from the tents, so no dangerous wildlife would be lured in while they were asleep.

As an added precaution, they assigned shifts to keep watch after supper was finished and they were ready to sleep. It could be dangerous in the wild, so it was best to be cautious.

Even though their lodgings weren't the most comfortable, the fatigue of the day more than made up for it, sending them each off to sleep with very little delay.

* * *

Sunlight and bird calls filtered through the trees early the next morning, stirring Naruto from his slumber. His heavy eyelids cracked open just enough to glance around the interior of his tent. Designed to be as compact as possible, the ceiling was only about two feet from his face, meaning he had to crawl in the night before. It wasn't made with lounging around in mind, simply sheltering it's occupant from the elements.

That, coupled with the tree root that Naruto could feel digging into his hip, gave him very few reasons to stay in bed longer than necessary.

In the few short minutes it took him to worm out of his sleeping bag and get dressed, he managed to shake off any lingering drowsiness. Crawling out of from between his tent's flaps, he stood and stretch out all his limbs before stooping over to fasten on his boots.

Kakashi's tent was open, with no occupant, meaning that he must have woke up first. There were shuffling sounds coming from Sakura's tent, but Sasuke seemed to still be asleep, as far as Naruto could tell. The trees blocked his view of the sun, but judging by the angle of the beams that filtered down through the canopy, it was still quite low in the sky. Ideal, if they were to get an early start on the day.

Just then Naruto felt nature's calling, drawing his attention away from other matters. He found himself focusing on finding a spot away from camp to relieve himself. Choosing a direction, he walked until he was out of sight from the tents.

In only a couple minutes, he turned to head back towards camp, when he noticed a shadow pass overhead, shading him for just a portion of a second. Through the thick foliage, he couldn't see just what bird had cast it though.

Shaking it off his mind, he continued back to camp to pack up and get ready to head out. Breakfast was simply cold rations all around, as no one wanted to spend the time to make a fire and cook anything up. It sped things up tremendously, and the entire crew was up and all packed in less that fifteen minutes.

Once again, they fell into silence as the four travellers hit the trail. No one was especially talkative that morning, both because of the early hour, and the lingering tiredness from the day before. Single file, they continued down the trail, a bird's shadow once again flickering across the ground.

* * *

 **Several miles south**

The seven parked speeder-bikes sat in a row, undisturbed since their riders had departed. That is, until a dark hand reached out to gently rest on the canvas cover of one of them.

The appendage was darker than a night sky, absorbing any light that came into contact with it. It's edges were hard to define, seemingly shifting ever so slightly, with strange shadows dancing around it like tongues of a pitch black fire. The hand and arm were stretched out of a cloak as black as they were, sharing the same malevolent aura.

The cloak shimmered and flickered from head to toe, draped around the person beneath in a way that covered the entire body. The hood was pulled up, and no face was visible in that void-like blackness. The only colour to be seen were two glowing yellow eyes, peering out from beneath the hood. The figure stood somewhere between 5 and 6 feet tall, but it's intimidating presence made it seem much larger than that.

"Someone made it to them before we did." A whisper of a voice sounded out the words, sounding more like the wind than any noise made by flesh and blood.

It's glowing eyes panned over the bikes and surrounding area, spending some time looking in the direction the Raikiri crew had headed the day previous.

A few moments to contemplate it's options was all it took for it to make up its mind. "Looks like the easiest way to do this is to wait for them here, then confront them." A long, breathy sigh passed. "How irritating."

Behind it, a dozen or so other figures lumbered over. Some looking nearly identical to the first, while others had the huge frame of an Akamichi, or the fair hair and skin of a Yamanaka.

The largest of the Akamichi, standing nearly 12 feet tall, rolled his fist in his opposite palm, cracking a number of knuckles in the process. "Sounds like fun..."

* * *

Sakura wasn't one to be suspicious by nature. She rarely had hunches or intuitions that someone was hiding something from her, or that things weren't as they seemed. Unless someone was hiding something from her. Then her sixth sense went haywire. Right now, she knew that Naruto wasn't sharing something with the group.

They were still traveling single-file, Kakashi leading, followed by Sasuke. Sakura was behind the Uchiha, with Naruto bringing up the rear. Here's what she knew.

Fact number one; days on this planet were longer than they were used to. Meaning that lunch would be further from breakfast than normal. They had no time to stop for an early lunch, so they were forced to tough out the hunger for some time.

Fact number two; everyone was feeling the effects of the hunger. Stomachs were grumbling, tempers were short, and conversation was to a minimum. Even Kakashi had abandoned his usual chipper self, instead dreaming the day away with thoughts of their next meal. Everyone marched on in silence. That is, everyone except Naruto. Oblivious to the irritable states of his crewmen, he hummed a merry toon as he sauntered along.

The third piece of evidence was the most damning, in Sakura's mind. She hadn't seen him open his left hand since much earlier in that morning, and there was a dark red smudge on his cheek.

Looking at him over her shoulder, her voice broke the silence with a sickly sweet word. "Naruto?"

Naruto's innocent eyes turned to her, curious. "Yeah?"

"What's in your hand?" The same, measured syllables were used.

By now, both men in front had also turned their attention to the exchange.

Naruto grinning in what he thought was a disarming way. Onlookers would describe it closer to 'incriminating'. "Nothing! I was just plucking some leaves off the shrubs to give my hands something to do!"

He spread out his hand, showing the deep burgundy leaves that could be seen on the shrubs that grew in droves alongside the trail, filling in the gaps between the thinning trees.

"Mmm hmm..." She hummed out, her skepticism tangible in the air. "Then what's it doing on the corner of your mouth?"

His eyes widened as he tried blindly to wipe it away, only partially succeeding.

"Those leaves have been edible this whole time, haven't they?!" Her slow, foreboding voice transforming to bare anger. "Why didn't you tell any of us?!"

Kakashi and Sasuke's scowls could be seen over either of her shoulders, equally incensed at this development.

Naruto pointed his finger at the others in his defence. "H-hey, I'm at the back of the line! If I had told you guys about them, you'd have stripped the bushes before I could have even got to them!"

Sasuke's pointed gaze didn't let up as he wordlessly grabbed a fistful of the red leaves and shoved them into his mouth. His scale markings around the base of his neck crawled and writhed, as if he wanted nothing more than to spit flames. Eventually he broke the uncomfortably long eye contact and turned to continue walking.

Sakura soon followed suit, sparing Naruto one last scathing look.

Looking to his captain for a measure of support, Naruto was startled instead by the sheer disappointment, bordering on sorrow, in those eyes. The rest of his face was covered by his mask, but Naruto had no doubt it matched his eyes. Slowly, the last member of the Raikiri crew turned away from Naruto and began walking away.

The blonde threw his hands up towards the others. "Come on guys!" None of them spared him a glance. "I would have told you at lunch!"

True to his prediction, from that point on the others would practically strip each bush that was within arms reach of the trail before he could get to them. Since his crew seemed intent on ignoring him for the time being though, he stealthily reached into his pocket, with a ghost of a smile on his face. He pulled out a mass of what looked like green hair and shoved it down the hatch. They might have found out about the leaves, but he hadn't told them about the moss.

* * *

"That rodent in the thicket."

"Gah! How are you so good at this?!" Naruto exclaimed, frustration dripping from his words.

They had rotated walking positions, putting Sasuke in the lead, followed by Naruto and Sakura.

"Let me try." Sakura interjected, eyes scanning their surroundings. Locking in on a small object in the distance, she grinned. "I spy with my little eye, something that is blue, but colourless."

"That iridescent butterfly on that flower up the slope over there." His neck didn't even turn as he pointed off to their left.

Both of the others groaned again in disappointment. They'd done over a dozen rounds, and had yet to even make him hesitate in his answer. With both of them being behind his back, they couldn't see the smirk he was wearing. Or the three spinning tomoe in each of his eyes.

Naruto's hands idly grabbed a thick stick from the ground, almost the size of a small log. Just to have something on hand in case he got any more irritated.

"Okay then, wise guy." He spoke slowly, trying to unwind himself a little. Sasuke's smug demeanour had really gotten under his skin more than he would care to admit. "I spy with my little eye, something dark and fast."

"That shadow that just passed overhead."

Naruto's well muscled arms flexed in anger, snapping his stick with minimal effort.

"F**k!"

* * *

"Can you not?"

The pink head of hair turned, curious. "What do you mean?"

An angry red welt ran across the forehead of the Raikiri's resident non-human. With his left hand he rubbed the sore, while also adjusting his disheveled hair.

"Stop pulling back the branches, there are people behind you."

The accusations surprised Sakura, who was unaware of the plight of those following her. "Oh, sorry! I thought you guys were far enough behind me that you wouldn't get hit!"

"We are not." This dry observation came, surprisingly, from Kakashi, over her other shoulder.

She had to suppress a snort of surprise as she took in his appearance. His hair was full of debris ranging from needles and cones, to twigs and bark. His trademark headband was askew, rotated ninety degrees from it's usually resting place, and a slight trickle of blood seeped down from his nose from a rather sturdy smack. His deadpan stare made the situation all the more uncomfortable for her.

She could do little more than mumble an apology and continue walking, this time not bending back branches that would snap back and slap her crewmen in the face.

* * *

Unfortunately for the crew though, the lighthearted energy that had been present for the majority of the afternoon began to dwindle as the sun sank lower. As the shadows lengthened, the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck began to stand up, and tension filled his body.

Throughout the last couple days, he had been able to keep himself distracted with the company of his team, and their shenanigans. But for reasons that he couldn't quite pin down, an oppressive weight seemed to settle around his neck as the day got older.

It had been years since he had last spent any amount of time in any sort of wilderness, but memories and flashbacks began to flow unbidden through his mind. And with them, the primal survival instincts he had long ago buried.

Once again bringing up the rear, Naruto's head remained on a swivel, occasionally jerking towards movement he thought he saw.

The terrain had changed slightly several times over the course of the day, and was currently mostly open meadows, dotted with some trees and wildflowers. The open area worked to his advantage in this case, as it put his mind at ease. It's hard for a predator to be lurking nearby in the bushes, when there are no bushes.

That said, the open sky would shortly cause them more trouble than they were expecting.

Movement caught the blond's eye, pulling his gaze towards a shape moving fast across the ground. It appeared to him to be a shadow, once again. For the hundredth time that day, he tried in vain to spot the bird that cast it.

He was about to dismiss it from his mind, when the same shadow shot back across the ground. That was new. In short order, it passed a third time, then a fourth. Next, it paused.

Naruto had since come to a full stop, craning his neck to find this animal. His abrupt halt caught Sasuke's attention, who turned back to see what the issue was.

"What's the trou-"

Blue eyes flew wide open as a shape came into view.

"Get down!"

Without questioning it, the Uchiha and other two dropped to the ground, and not a moment too soon. It was only his speedy response to Naruto's warning that kept Sasuke's head attached to his shoulders.

Instead, the massive claw that would have decapitated him caught the side of his backpack, launching him a dozen feet to the side, spinning him in the air. As he crashed to the ground, he wasted no time unbuckling his pack and sliding it off his shoulders, ready for a fight. In only a few seconds, he was free, sword in hand.

The creature that had struck him, and had since landed between him and his crew, was like nothing he had ever seen. It stood around two stories tall, on four feet that resembled a bird's claws. The massive body had a feline-like build, and was covered in a grey coat that could have either been fur or feathers, it was difficult to tell.

A long tail trailed behind it, reminding him again of a cat. The face and snout was most similar to a feline, though it oddly enough seemed to only have four large teeth as fangs, the rest of its mouth being either toothless, or held small teeth. On the forehead sat two small blue horns, curved towards its front.

The last, and strangest body part, were the two enormous wings that were spread out from its back, still folding in from its decent. As its jaws parted, it let loose a piercing bellow, somewhere between a howl and a roar.

The three other travellers had already followed Sasuke's suit and let their bags drop to the ground, Kakashi grabbing his blade while the other two took hold of their axes.

The creature moved first, once again lunging for Sasuke, casting an immense shadow over the man as it bared down on him. It struck out with a paw, much like how a cat would to toy with a mouse. Sasuke leaped back just out of range, and managed to whip his Chidori around to strike the offending appendage.

The gash left was little more than an annoyance to the beast however. A shrill warble of pain did escape its throat, but it didn't slow the attacker.

By now, the remaining three humanoids had been given enough time to take up positions to distract this predator, spreading out around it. Sakura, who had rushed towards the back end of the beast struck out in an two handed, overhead swing into the thick tail.

The axe sunk deep and garnered a much more severe reaction from the creature than Sasuke's scratch did. Quicker than she could react to, it thrashed its tail, catching the girl in the midriff. Wind knocked from her lungs, she tumbled backwards head over heels in a dramatic display.

Angered at the pain caused, their attacker turned away from the Uchiha to finish off the girl on the ground. As it rotated however, Kakashi darted towards it, targeting its front legs. Sidestepping a snap of its jaws, the Captain made a quick slash at the back of its leg.

It occurred to Naruto that the man was aiming to hamstring the creature, and disable it. A smart move by all accounts, as it was unlikely that they had any other feasible way to prevail against the behemoth.

Unfortunately, it seemed the animal had a measure of intelligence and could see what the silver headed man was attempting. It moved its limb just in time to save its mobility, only getting a shallow gash instead.

Kakashi was forced to spring back, away from the beast to avoid its powerful legs and snapping teeth. It wasn't able to pursue the man, as just when it attempted to dart its head in towards him, Naruto had taken a step forward and swung his axe to meet with the creature's cheek.

The blow surprised their attacker, knocking his head to the side with unexpected force and leaving a nasty wound, but was ultimately unable to gain any lasting results.

The brief but intense exchange let both sides have a moment to size up their situation. Sakura had picked herself up off the dirt, though she had trouble standing straight, probably because of the broken ribs she was nursing.

A deep rumbling resonated from the beast's chest. It seemed to be reevaluating its prey, weighing their worth against the cost of continuing its attack. It had yet to be hurt in any serious fashion, but they were giving it much more difficulty that it had anticipated.

Evidently, not quite enough difficulty. The momentary standoff was broken by its eyes flashing an ominous shade of red. The long tail lifted off the ground and curled alongside the beast's body, pointing the tip towards the group.

They eyed the appendage warily, until a faint glow emanated from the tip of the tail.

"Move!" Kakashi barked out at the last second. All four scattered in different directions, just as all hell broke loose.

A burst of three blasts of a pale purple energy erupted from the tail, tearing into the ground and spreading debris. Another volley was launched right after, too fast for Naruto to completely dodge. One of the blasts grazed his left left leg, burning the skin. The resulting explosion behind him likewise caused damage, flinging rocks and roots at his back, knocking him to his knees.

"Gaghh!" He clenched his jaw and forced down a cry of pain. He could see the tail point towards him again ready to finish him off, but a plume of flame threatened to engulf the creature unless it backed away. It ducked back in time to avoid injury, though it did lose a fair amount of hair from it's left side.

The Uchiha stood to the side, half crouched over the rocky soil. His scale markings had raised up past his collar, flickering up to his lower jaw. The signature sent of singed hair filled everyone's nostrils, almost making Sakura gag.

Naruto spared a moment to inspect his burnt leg. The flesh was writhing, already stitching itself back together, but it still oozed an unsightly amount of blood and other fluids.

During this exchange, Sakura had once again snuck around behind the attacker, moving gingerly to avoid aggravating her ribs. Once she was close enough to that deadly tail, she made another heavy swing, aimed right at the wound she had left the last time.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, she brought her axe up in an overhand swing. The blade struck its mark, slicing through the bone, and leaving nearly half the beast's tail to dangle by a narrow strip of flesh.

A shrill roar tore from the hunter's throat, resonating through the crew's bones. Spinning, it lunged towards Sakura, snapping its immense jaws. Responding quickly, Sakura managed to twist the axe's handle upright, catching its jaws on the inside of the mouth, before its teeth could sink into her.

It was clear to Kakashi that it wouldn't hold for long, so he tried to draw its attention, or at very least make it back off. He slashed at its cheek and face with his short sword, but didn't gain anything from it. Sakura was able to scramble a few meters away from the imposing jaws before the handle was crushed, freeing it to pursue her further.

Its broad head swung to the side, looking to bat away Kakashi so it could kill the pink haired thorn in its side, but to no effect. The limber captain dropped low, narrowly dodging the appendage. It served as enough of a distraction for it to continue its attack on Sakura though.

She had been backed up nearly to the tree line now, in her efforts to get away. She scrambled to think of another way to defend herself, when the unexpected happened. Almost faster than her eye could see, a slender object launched from the trees, and buried itself into the left eye of the creature.

Before it was even given a chance to respond to the pain of its newest injury, a bellowing war cry rang out.

"HAAAAARRRGHHH!"

The single biggest man that Sakura had ever seen stepped in front of her, swinging the biggest mace she had ever seen. The head of the mace was a ball of solid metal, at least two feet across, covered in rows of razor sharp spikes. The man swinging it was clearly Akamichi, but no ordinary Akamichi.

At almost 13 feet tall, this man stood almost 4 feet taller than your typical Akamichi man. The only people of that stature that Sakura had ever heard of were members of the Akamichi noble clans, the leaders of the race.

Whatever his story was, his display was nothing short of impressive. His long hair swayed behind his back as he put his full force into the swing. The thunderous collision between his mace and the creature's face was the single most encouraging thing the crew of the Raikiri had seen all day. The sound of bones crunching could easily be heard, the recoil of the hit tossing the beast's entire front end to the side.

Two more bolts shot from the trees, sinking into its side, causing more pain and injury. It was now clear that someone in the trees was armed with a bow, and was launching arrows to contribute to the fight. Likely a Yamanaka, if they were traveling in the traditional group of three. That just left one member of the trio to show them self.

Sakura couldn't see it, but from his angle, Naruto saw an added detail. In the same moment that the Akamichi had attacked, a dark mass had transferred to the patch of ground underneath the predator's feet. If he hadn't seen it move, he may have dismissed it as the monster's shadow. But no shadow could do what came next.

Obviously trying to get itself out of the now clearly bad situation, it tried to step away. However, while it had been looking at the man to its front, inky black tendrils had risen from the ground, coiling tightly around its legs. It struggled to free itself, but the eldritch fingers had too tight a grip.

Unable to move, and with its tail out of commission, it was helpless to defend against its attacker. In short order, a long knife was drawn from the Akamichi's belt, and with a quick stab to the bottom of the jaw, the beast fell to the ground, a lifeless husk.

For about five seconds, nobody moved. The exhausted silence stretched across the area, allowing the humans and Uchiha to gather their bearings.

Soon, the Akamichi turned to Sakura, who had fallen backwards onto her backside and wrists. Extending his massive hand to her, he helped her up.

"Are you alright? You looked pretty hurt..."

She gave him a reassuring smile through the pain. "I'll be okay, thanks. Just some cracked ribs."

This didn't do much to alleviate his concern. "My friend can help, she's good with that kind of thing!"

He looked over to the tree line and raised his voice over Sakura, who was trying to tell him that she was a medic herself. "Ino! Come here, she could use your help!"

From behind Sakura came footsteps, lightly stepping across the rocks and branches. A Yamanaka woman emerged from between two nearby trees, a longbow strung across her back. She wore clothes suitable for the outdoors, sturdy pants and a jacket with many pockets. That said, they still hugged her lithe frame enough to accentuate all the right places, giving her quite the image, especially with the striking purple top. Her long, pale blonde hair trailed behind her, held back by a ponytail high on her head.

While not a tall woman, she had quite long legs to carry her across the distance quickly. Once she got close enough to speak without raising her voice, she answered her friend's call. "What's wrong, Choji?"

As the words left her lips, she turned her attention to Sakura, clearly still quite sore.

"Are you alright? Are you in much pai-"

Her inquiry came to a grinding halt as she took a closer look at the face of who she was addressing.

"Sakura?!"

The patient's face mirrored the girl asking. Much like an animal in the headlights, both were caught off-guard. "Ino!"

Their recognition obviously surprised Choji, who looked back and forth between the two a number of times. He still had a hand on Sakura's back, keeping her steady as best he could.

"You know each other?"

Ino shook her head in disbelief. "We did our medical training together."

Sakura couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle from the absurdity of meeting Ino again in a place like this, a chuckle she instantly regretted. Her pained wince brought Ino's attention back to the matter at hand.

"We'll catch up later. For now, let's get you seated over here so I can have a better look at you and your friends." She gestured to a fallen tree nearby that would work as a bench. With Choji easing her along, Sakura walked over and had a seat.

By now, the others had also started walking over to join in on the conversation. Kakashi was the first over to the log, keen to check on Sakura's wellbeing.

Behind him, a mass of darkness writhed as it pulled itself up from the ground. It started as a flat pool, but began to rise in the centre, and slowly pulled together into a roughly humanoid shape, cloaked in a substance that couldn't be seen through. Two glowing brown eyes shone where the face must have been, peering over at his companions, then to the newcomers.

Sasuke was next, though he was visibly uncomfortable with something. Even Naruto, who didn't know Sasuke real well, could see that he was hesitant to approach these three aliens. Naruto himself brought up the rear, as he was the furthest from the final showdown.

Everyone assumed a rough circle around Ino and Sakura, watching with interest as the telepath inspected her fellow medic. As they stood in an awkward silence, Sasuke apparently gathered the nerve to speak to the Nara beside him.

He turned his head slightly, just enough to be somewhat facing him, and gave a tiny nod. "Shikamaru. I had a hunch it was you we were looking for."

The Nara have him a similar nod back, though he was slightly more talkative. His voice, like all Nara, was hushed, like a loud whisper. "Sasuke, it's been a long time. How are you?"

"I'm well." Was the extent of his answer.

On Sasuke's other side, Naruto was agog watching the exchange. Not only was Sasuke on a casual first name basis with this random person they were looking for in the middle of a backwater wilderness planet, but he was being downright friendly by Sasuke standards.

It seemed the rest of the group caught the little exchange too. In a hurry, Choji gave the Uchiha another look, and his face was split by a wide smile. "Sasuke! Good to see you buddy!"

Without bothering to get permission, he stepped forward and caught the pilot in a big hug. Though he didn't return the gesture, Sasuke didn't fight it. His face did scrunch up in clear disapproval though. "Choji."

Ino gaped at him, clearly blown away that he was there. "Sasuke, Sakura, you two know each other?!"

Sakura fielded this question, much to Sasuke's relief. "Yeah, we work together. I didn't know you knew Sasuke?"

A brilliant smile lit up Ino's face. "Oh yeah, we all grew up together! Our parents all worked together pretty closely, so we've known each other our whole lives!"

The smile dropped a little thought at what she said next. "It's been a while since we've seen you though, Sasuke. You kind of dropped off the map."

Clearly uncomfortable with the indirect inquiry into his private affairs, he changed subjects in a very abrupt way. "These are our other crew mates, Captain Kakashi, and Naruto." He gestured slightly at each as he mentioned them.

Picking up that he didn't want to talk about it, Ino let it go and greeted the others. She leaned forwards to shake Naruto's hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you! My name's Ino!"

The next few minutes were filled with greetings being exchanged between different parties back and forth, as well as various explanations and reasons for why they all seemed to know each other. It took a little while, but eventually the buzz of conversation died down, allowing them to get to the point of their visit.

In an effort to maintain confidentiality, Kakashi took the three noble heirs aside to explain the reason for their appearance. The Raikiri crew knew the general idea of what was happening, but evidently there were details that couldn't be shared with anyone outside the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akamichi leadership. With the exception of Kakashi of course.

They weren't exactly eager to cut their trial short and depart, but the matter was urgent, and so it was decided that in the morning they would begin their decent. In the meantime though, they got out their tents and made camp for the night. It had been a tiring day both mentally and physically, and Sakura had healing to do.

So, taking care not to do anything that would draw more attention from any wildlife, the seven explorers rested, ready for yet another long day to come.

* * *

 **And there it is! It took a fair bit of effort to describe the environment in this chapter. I'm basing it on the mountains that I spend most of my summers in, and I'm hoping that I've been doing them justice! I'm basing a lot of the landscape of this planet on western Canada, my homeland. Hopefully anyone who backpacks can relate to the struggles that I tried to describe! As always, let me know what you think, and I'll do my best to get the next chapter up soon!**


	8. Ambush

**It's been a little while, but here I am with another chapter! I do apologize for the long wait, I was backpacking overseas without my laptop for the last couple months, so I wasn't able to put up any updates. Fortunately, that didn't stop me from writing! My next chapter is nearly complete as well, it should be ready by next week. But until then, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The sun had set, but one could hardly say that darkness had fallen. The night was a clear one, not a cloud in the sky, meaning there were no obstacles to block the starlight. With no development anywhere on the planet, that also meant that there was zero light pollution. The result was one of the most beautiful night skies that most people could ever imagine.

The air had cooled, but it wasn't exactly cold. The chill simply added a kind of... freshness to the smell of the trees, and the stream that ran nearby.

Naruto soaked in all these sensations, tilting his head back and inhaling deeply. His eyes stayed closed for a time, simply enjoying the smell of the pure, uninhibited nature. When he cracked his eyelids back open, he slowly brought his gaze from the brilliant light show in the sky, to the small campfire at the center of their camp.

Normally Naruto would have hesitated to light a fire, for fear of attracting attention. However, Shikamaru had explained to him that the beast they had encountered before wouldn't be drawn by fire. In fact, the Nara told him that the flames would actually serve to repel most local wildlife in this region. Evidently he had studied the area extensively before taking part in this trial.

He was a short ways away from the fire, leaning against a tree just outside the circle of light. Over by the fire, he could see Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Choji, sitting in a circle talking. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but every now and again he'd hear Choji let out a hearty laugh.

He wasn't quite sure where Kakashi had went, but the girls were in Ino's tent, behind him to his right. Ino had the largest tent of anyone there (besides Choji), so she used it to make Sakura comfortable and tend to her injuries. Though Naruto suspected that they were probably done treating wounds, and were instead catching up. It had been a few years since they had seen each other last, according to Sakura.

It was strange for Naruto to see, all these people who had known each other before, being reunited. It was something that he had never experienced. He supposed that was to be expected, when all the people he had known in his childhood were no longer among the living. The thought gave him little comfort though.

Instead, he observed. From his shadowy corner of the camp, he watched on as Sasuke relived stories of his past with old friends, each story and memory bringing back a different emotion. It was strange to see him act so at ease, so relaxed. There was no doubt that he was comfortable aboard the Raikiri, but this was something else. Like the presence of his childhood friends had made him feel secure enough that he could let his defenses drop, even just a little.

Whatever the reason for the change was, Naruto was having difficulty understanding it. It was weird, like seeing a turtle out of its shell. He was apparently so engrossed in observing the boys by the fire, that he hadn't heard the sound of Ino climbing out of her tent, leaving Sakura to rest.

"It's cold this far from the fire. Why don't you sit with the guys? I'm sure they'd love to get to know you better." Her soft, melodious voice surprised him, causing him to turn his head over his shoulder to look at her.

He flashed a small smile to acknowledge her. "I'm alright, thanks. I'm happy to watch."

Ino pursed her delicate lips ever so slightly and tilted her blond head to the side, clearly in thought. When she replied, she chose to try and pursue a different subject.

"I didn't get much of a chance to talk to you earlier, but I'd love to hear more about you!"

Naruto gave a little laugh in response. "There's not much to hear, but alright. What do you want to know?"

"Well how about in the beginning? Where are you from, where'd you grow up?" As she spoke, she sidled up to the tree he was leaning on, and found her own place to rest against, right beside him.

He watched her settle in before answering, looking down to meet her light green eyes, as she was a fair bit shorter than him. "That's kind of a difficult question in my case. I was raised on a ship the majority of my childhood. But I guess the planet that I spent the most time on would have to be...-"

 _Greenery was everywhere, encompassing the wreckage. A single young boy took in the sight. Towering trees, draped in vines and moss blocked his view of every direction but one. A long trench of overturned earth and smouldering grass stretching further than he could see, marking the place where the ship had come down._

 _He had already looked through the hallways and rooms that were left attached to the ship, looking for anyone that could help him. It was in vain though, all the grownups were dead. His parents..._

 _A wave of pain and sorrow washed over him, bringing him to his knees. Tears flowed uncontrolled to the ground as he pounded his fist into the earth. It was his fault. It was because he lost control._

 _A hand raised to hold his chest. His shirt had been mostly destroyed in the crash, letting his fingers land right on the scar. The long incision that marked his surgery. For an untold length of time, there he stayed. Trying to comprehend the reality of what had happened._

 _As the hours past though, the numbness and shock began to wear off. He realized that this was far from over. Surviving what had happened would pale in comparison to surviving what would come next._

 _Surviving alone, as a child, on an uninhabited world, with no way to escape or call for help would be one thing. Difficult for sure, but people had done it before. But this was no ordinary planet. No one had ever even survived one night. This was a planet that made even hardened spacefarers turn and run. This planet, was Kurama._

Naruto blinked, dispelling the memory that had rushed through his head. He could tell that Ino had noticed his abnormally long pause, and quickly tried to cover for himself. "-Konohagakure no Sato. We would visit it pretty often, so I saw it a fair bit."

He hadn't fooled Ino by a long shot, but she didn't press him on the obviously complicated subject.

"I love Konohagakure! My parents basically raised me there. Technically we lived on our home planet most of the time, but when your dad is the leader of your race, and a high ranking official in the Konoha military, you end up spending a lot of time in the Fire Alliance Capital."

Naruto nodded along. "I can only imagine."

Something about the way he said it made Ino pause. His words conveyed the idea that he had no familiarity with that way of life. But his tone sounded almost nostalgic. But why? This time, Ino chose to press him for a little more info. "Something gives me the feeling that you don't need to imagine it."

He cocked an eyebrow, trying to look quizzical, but her remark clearly rattled him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She gently nudged his ribs with her elbow and shot him a meaningful look."One of the side effects of reading minds, is that after a while, you start to be able to read faces too."

He didn't answer immediately, instead spending a few seconds just looking at her. He supposed she had a point, but even so, she was clearly a cut above an average Yamanaka.

"You're perceptive, I'll give you that." He conceded, ruefully.

She flashed a bright smile at the praise."Why thank you, I do try!"

The man gestured toward the others around the fire with his chin. "I must say, I'm kind of curious how you know Sasuke. He's a pretty closed off person from what I've seen of him, but you guys seem to go way back. Yesterday you said something about your parents knowing each other?"

It didn't escape her notice that he was shifting the subject away from what it was, but that was alright. He clearly didn't wish to discuss it any further. Instead, she answered his question.

"We've all known each other since we could barely walk! Our parents were all colleagues, so they spent a lot of time working together; And since they all had kids that were about the same age-" she waved her hand towards the boys by the fire. "If they ever had to meet for something, they'd bring us along and let us play together!"

"That sounds really nice!" He meant it too. He couldn't really relate, but the idea of having a group that has known you and cared about you for so long really appealed to him.

It was then that something she had said clicked into place in his mind. "Wait a second... you three are all heirs to your respective thrones. So does that mean that Sasuke...?"

Ino cocked her eyebrow and waited to see if he would finish that thought. When it became clear he wasn't going to, she offered, "-Is an Uchiha prince? Yes it does! His father was leader of the Uchiha!"

That was no small detail. It's not every day you found out your workmate was royalty. "I... wow. I would have never guessed. I guess that superiority thing of his makes a little more sense now!" Joked Naruto.

Ino apparently knew what he meant, judging by the way she laughed and nodded. "He can come across that way, yeah."

Now that Naruto thought about it though, that was an odd way Ino to word it. "His father was the leader?"

The Yamanaka's face dropped a little. "Sasuke's parents were killed a few years back. His older brother took over as the Uchiha leader when that happened."

His eyes widened, and his lips formed an O. This was news to him, he had never heard much about Sasuke's past. He didn't even know he had a brother! The same could be said about any of his crew mates he supposed.

"Wow... I had no idea."

She gave a little shrug with her shoulders. "I'm not surprised. It's a pretty off-limits subject around him." Her eyes shifted to his, giving him a serious look. "The only reason I've told you about this of course, is because I trust your ability to be discreet."

One blond eyebrow rose at that. "What makes you say that? We just met."

"I told you-" she gave him another conniving smile. "-I'm a Yamanaka. Reading people is my job."

Naruto's teeth showed as he smiled again, while he turned his gaze back to the fire. "Fair enough."

Another thought crossed his mind, so he pointed his chin towards Ino's tent. "What about her? You and Sakura?"

"Oh, that's easy! We actually went to medical school together!"

"Really?" Naruto looked both amused, and blown away. "Huh, what are the chances? You, meeting those two way out here."

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy! But you know what? I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my time with. Nothing is more valuable than quality time with friends. Know what I mean?"

Evidently her question was rhetorical, since she pushed off from the tree, and slowly walked off to join the others by the fire. Her statement did make Naruto think though.

"I think I'm starting to."

* * *

By the time Naruto got out of his tent the next morning, most of the others were already up and at it. Tents were being taken down, sleeping bags stored away, and breakfast being eaten. The sun was still low, and cast long shadows across the open area.

Not skipping a beat, he started pulling his weight. In a matter of minutes, his accommodations were stored away in his backpack, ready to be carried down the mountain.

As he was buckling up a strap on his backpack that was sitting on the ground between his knees, the dark, vague shape of Shikamaru slinked over. He didn't try to speak to Naruto. Instead, he just leaned back on a large rock, and turned his eyes up to the light clouds floating by overhead.

They sat like that, in silence, for several minutes. Naruto, packing his belongings, Shikamaru watching the sky. Before too much time passed however, the sun rose up above the treetops, and was allowed to shine directly onto the Nara's face. Naruto saw his eyes squint into a wince, and Shikamaru turned his face away from the sky, away from the light.

Naruto's interest was piqued by that. "Why would you be watching the sky if you're so sensitive to light?"

Those glowing brown eyes panned over to the blond's face. A sigh escaped Shikamaru, his answer following after that tired sound. "I like watching the clouds."

Naruto looked up to the clouds for himself, checking to see if there was anything interesting up there at the moment. "Why is that? Do you try and find shapes, or pictures in them?"

Shikamaru went right on ahead and ignored that last question, and instead just answered the first half. "I guess I'm just jealous." Seeing how his answer had only confused Naruto further, he elaborated. "A cloud doesn't choose things for itself. Cumulonimbus, altostratus, they don't care. Everything about them, from their composition to their direction is determined by external forces. Winds, temperature, humidity. They play such an important role in a planet's environment without any conscious effort. I wish my life could be like that."

It took Naruto a couple moments to quite grasp what was just said, but when he had finished processing the Nara's words, he let out a hearty laugh. "You're an interesting guy, you know that, Shikamaru?"

The shadow figure just sighed out an acknowledgement, before standing up to walk off.

Naruto shook his head as he watched the shadowy figure drift away. He got the sense that inside that wispy head lay some truly remarkable trains of thought.

"Not exactly down-to-earth, is he?"

From over his shoulder, he could see Choji slinging his pack up over his broad shoulders.

A little chuckle was Naruto's answer. "That's the truth."

The giant smiled. "He can be a little hard to figure out, but he's a good guy. You'll get used to him."

"Oh I'm not complaining!" Naruto clarified. "I like him already!"

"Right on!" Choji crunched down on a snack that he had whipped out of nowhere. "Oh, looks like Kakashi wants to head out in a few minutes by the way."

"Sweet, thanks!" The blond did a quick check-over of his straps, and slung his heavy backpack up and into place. It was a long walk down, no sense in dilly-dallying.

* * *

It took nearly a day and a half for the motley crew of seven to begin to see the landmarks that meant that they had finally finished their hike. By all accounts, they were only about a twenty minute walk from where they had left their bikes, when Ino stopped short, drawing everyone's attention.

Her eyes glazed over slightly, as if she weren't really seeing them at all for the moment. A few seconds later, she returned to reality and directed her attention on Kakashi.

"Did you organize the welcome party?"

His eyebrow cocked. "If I did, it's slipped my mind. What welcome party?"

She pointed her slender chin in the direction of the bikes. "There's people over there. At least ten, maybe a few more. It's hard to tell, they're on the edge of my range."

The Captain became very serious, taking charge of the situation. "Can you tell who they are?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't know them. But it seems like they are all Yamanaka, Akamichi, or Nara."

At hearing about the Yamanaka, Kakashi became cautious. "Do you think they've noticed us?"

Ino was unsure of how to reply. "I can't tell. My sensory range is larger than most, but it's not impossible that one of their's is larger. If they have noticed us, they aren't doing anything about it though."

"What exactly are they doing?" Probed the ex-military commander.

She shrugged. "Nothing, that I can tell. They're just sitting there."

Sakura piped up from the sidelines. "Are they waiting for you? Is it common for trial groups to meet up?"

Shikamaru addressed her question. "It would be most unusual. It is a vast planet, to run across another trio is rare. To see this many in one place? No, this is deliberate. The only question that remains, is what is the motive?"

The man in charge weighed his options for a moment, before continuing to walk. "Well, only one way to find out. But be ready."

As he walked away, Naruto saw their leader grab a bag of flour of all things from his pack, and put several large handfuls of the powder into his vest pockets. When the pockets were full, he adjusted the contents of his bag so that, from the top corner, the neck of a glass bottle was within reach for Kakashi. When he saw Naruto watching him, he just winked, and continued down the trail.

As they got closer to the group, Ino alerted her traveling companions to a change. "It seems like they've sensed us, they're gathering."

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't stop. In only a few minutes, they emerged from the wooded trail, into the open area that they had enjoyed lunch some days before. The difference between now and then? 12 extra people, lined up opposite to them. Four Nara, four Yamanaka, and four Akamichi. Three of the Akamichi stood between 8-10 feet tall, average clansmen. The fourth came nearly to the same height as Choji, indicating a royal bloodline.

The lead Nara stepped forward from the group to address the newcomers. Before he could though, Kakashi got the ball rolling. With his signature charming smile, he greeted the shadow person. "Hey there, nice to see a friendly face around these parts! Is there something we can do for you? If not, we'll just grab our bikes from behind you, and be on our way."

The yellow-eyed man sighed, in typical Nara fashion. "That would be so much easier. But we actually have business with your three companions. You and your crewmen can carry on though, we won't stop you."

The smile that Kakashi wore dropped a little bit, disappointed that there wouldn't be a simple solution. "Well that's to bad. I'm afraid I've been hired by your leaders to get these kids home as soon as possible."

"Those puppets are not our leaders!" The largest of the Akamichi butted in. "We are loyal to the royal family of the Fire Alliance, not Konoha!"

Choji stepped forward to address the giant across from him. "Chozoma, what are you talking about? We are all loyal to the royal family, Konoha serves the Queen!"

A scoff was the reply. "You're too naive, Choji. Konoha has all but usurped the throne! Ask yourself, when was the last time a royal family member made an appearance in public? Or even made a public address? It's been years since anyone but the Hokage has made decisions for our government!"

Naruto had become visibly agitated by this back and forth, and decided to add his two bits. "So what? If the Royals aren't stepping up, then let Konoha do it. It's pretty clear that they must not have an interest in ruling."

Kakashi's face was as inscrutable as usual, but his other shipmates seemed surprised that he'd weigh in on such a clearly political topic. For the time they'd know him, he really hadn't engaged in such subjects.

"Bah!" The Akamichi spat out. "This is no apathy! Konoha has hushed the rulership to grab power for themselves, but no longer! The Queen is preparing to regain her place as rule-"

"Chozoma!" The Nara interjected, ending that line of thought. "That's enough."

Chozoma grumbled a little, but begrudgingly stepped back, allowing the yellow eyed leader to finish.

"Whatever the circumstances are, the fact of the matter is, those three are staying with us."

Kakashi was just as firm. "Like I said before, not happening."

The shadowy hood bowed into a nod for a moment. "Very well. Then I apologize for what comes next." With that, he raised his arm in a signal to the four Yamanaka. In sync, they each stepped back behind their allies, and dropped to one knee to stabilize themselves. Raising their hands to form a triangle between their fingertips, they closed their eyes.

The next thing Naruto knew, his head all but slip open in pain. "Aaaghhhh!"

The piercing psychic attack was stronger than any he had felt before, the training he had received as a child did little to shield him from such an aggressive move.

The only one who seemed unaffected, was Ino. Sparing no time, she likewise dropped to a knee and mirrored their pose, brow furrowing under the mental strain. Like an umbrella spread over the Raikiri crew and friends, the oppressive mental assault had been cut off.

Shikamaru was the first to shout out directions. "Stop them! Ino's strong, but she can't hold long against four of them!"

In that second, chaos ensued. Everyone present let their backpacks fall to the ground, and moved forward.

Choji moved to interrupt the hostile mind-walkers, but was blocked by the frame of Chozoma. Choji's large mace was swung with both hands, but his opponent had weapons of his own. The mace was blocked by a large round shield held on Chozoma's left arm, while he countered with a swing of his battle axe, held in his right.

Choji sidestepped the chop and kicked Chozoma's shield, forcing him to take a couple steps backwards. As the two continued to square off, other engagements were taking place.

One of the remaining Akamichi's had blocked Sasuke's attempt to attack her Nara allies, as his flames would pose a significant threat to the light-sensitive beings. Another tried to charge Ino's position, but was hindered by Shikamaru's shadow tendrils anchoring them in place.

The Nara had to be careful, he was vulnerable to physical attacks when manifesting, so he wove together a pattern of attacking, holding, and disappearing, to delay them.

Sakura, without her customary weapons and tools, wasn't able to do much more than watch. She had taken up Ino's longbow, but her lack of training, as well as injured ribs, made it hard for her to draw. Nonetheless, she forced her way through the pain, and when possible, would loose an arrow at the Akamichi that Shikamaru was delaying. They were the biggest target for her to hit, and Shakamaru was the least likely to be hurt by an arrow.

The man putting on a display most worthy of praise was none other than their fearless leader, Kakashi. Beginning by merely staring down the four Nara in front of him, he bided his time. When one of the shadow people moved to immobilize him, he had danced sideways, avoiding their darting shadow.

Simultaneously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handful of white powder. The flour, Naruto realized, from before. As a second Nara lunged forwards in its humanoid form, Kakashi tossed the flour into the air in front of his attacker, and without a moment's hesitation, raised his left hand, revealing a lighter.

Before anyone could put the pieces together, the spark ignited the cloud of pulverized wheat, making for a rather showy display of light and heat. Hissing at the stinging light, the attacker averted their eyes and stepped back.

Not deterred however, the remaining two attacked simultaneously, alongside the first, who was still in their non-corporeal form. Another flour cloud greeted them, bursting into another fireball, but they were ready. All three split up, evading the flame, and continuing towards him.

What they hadn't seen however, was that Kakashi, while hidden by the plume of flame, had grabbed the glass bottle from his back, and taken a large swig through his mask. The bottle, Naruto could now see, was Kakashi's prized single malt whisky. The man could not shut up about it.

As the phantoms closed in again, Kakashi spat a spray of the spirit at the nearest Nara, all the while holding the lighter in front of his lips. The resulting flamethrower caught the Nara's body this time, and not just the eyes.

They screeched in pain, and in their moment of distraction, Kakashi stepped through the gap that had been made in their encirclement around him. By escaping the other two, he had put himself in a position where he could once again see all four of his opponents.

Naruto was once again reminded that Kakashi was a truly terrifying man on the battlefield. He amply displayed the kind of strategic mind and swift execution that one would expect from an Elite Jounin of Konohagakure.

Which brought Naruto to focus on his own situation. The last opponent was a single Akamichi warrior, guarding the enemy Yamanaka. Naruto could make an attempt to fight his way through them to the telepaths, but didn't believe that would be the best choice. The last time he had fought an Akamichi, they had been unarmed, and it had been a long, drawn out fight. He didn't have the luxury of a battle of attrition here, the clock was ticking on at least two fronts.

Kakashi, while no doubt a dangerous fighter, had a limited supply of flammable objects to give him the edge he needed when outnumbered four to one. If he ran out and was beaten, the Nara's would move on to help their allies, signalling the end for the Raikiri, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Likewise, Ino wouldn't be able to protect them for much longer. If her opponents were able to overpower her, the fight would be over. It would be difficult to focus on one opponent with the Yamanaka's attacking their minds, let alone a situation where they were outnumbered to begin with.

So, Naruto was left with the option of who to help. He wasn't in a hurry to jump in the middle of Kakashi's fight, as he didn't know enough about fighting Nara to be of much help. More than likely, he would only slow Kakashi down.

Unarmed as he was, he saw little use in trying to tag team Chozoma with Choji. Both fighters were several times his size, not to mention it seemed like it was a pretty personal duel. Their interaction earlier made it seem like the two knew each other previously, and he didn't want to involve himself it he didn't have to.

The only two viable options were to team up with either Shikamaru, or Sasuke against their Akamichi rivals. The downside for either of those options however, was that with him committed to a fight, the last remaining Akamichi would have a free lane to attack Sakura and Ino.

With all the possibilities circling around in his head, he realized that there was no hope of victory. That is, without him letting others see things that he had hoped to keep private. But as he saw everyone around him fight for all they were worth, there was no way he could justify putting his privacy over their safety.

With the decision made, he relaxed his body, and felt his cells begin to shift and rearrange. Once more, his hair grew longer, his hands sprouted claws, his teeth sharpened, and the body-hair on his arms thickened and turned to a red-orange hue. When he opened his eyes, red iris surrounded his slitted, narrowed pupil.

A powerful leg pushed off the ground beneath him, catapulting him towards Shikamaru. At the moment, Shikamaru had disengaged, putting a little distance between the two parties. The giant saw Naruto approaching, but it did him little good.

He swung his sword in a wide arc, but Naruto was too fast. Before the blade reached him, he had already entered striking distance. As the powerful Akamichi swung, almost in slow motion to the empowered boy, Naruto leapt into the air, feet first. With his left hand, he grabbed hold of his enemy's arm and pulled himself forward, giving him even more momentum. His feet passed over the right shoulder of the giant, followed by the rest of his body, with his front facing the sky. As his torso passed by the man's head, Naruto reached out with his right hand and grasped the Akamichi's chin.

With the momentum of his whole body, as well as his great strength, the man's spine stood no chance. Head twisted around, the great body fell to the dirt. By this time, Naruto was already halfway towards the team of Yamanaka.

One of the Nara had caught sight of the display, but in his moment of surprise, Kakashi had struck. A spray of flaming whisky seared across their skin, the pain interfering with the focus that was required to shift from corporeal to non-corporeal. The silver short sword that belonged to the Raikiri captain was passing through the chest of the creature, no more than a second later.

Meanwhile, Naruto closed the distance between himself and the Yamanaka's last Akamichi guard. The guard squared his feet, preparing for an attack.

The attack came in a way that he had not prepared for however. The blond was still over ten meters away from his target, when he lunged forwards, as if he were a wild animal, about to run on all fours. Instead of running though, he performed a quick handspring, slingshotting his feet over head head, then back upright. It could then be seen that as he had done the handspring, he had grabbed a sizable stone between his hands.

Holding the rock, he moved with the spinning motion of the handspring, and threw it in an overhead toss, using both hands. Moving too fast for the Akamichi to respond to, the stone struck his head like a bullet, caving through his forehead with little resistance.

Now the field turned it's collective attention to the previously unnoticed human. Mere feet from the four kneeling Yamanaka, the attackers had been put in a perilous position. In a last ditch effort, Chozoma took advantage of the attention that Naruto had drawn, and slammed his shield into Choji, knocking him down onto his back.

A second later, he threw his massive axe in an overhand arc towards the boy threatening the psychics. At the last moment, Naruto entered a slide, passing under the lethal projectile. He slid across the grass right into the midst of the four fair haired enemies, a maelstrom of claws and limbs.

Being so preoccupied with their struggle to overwhelm Ino, they didn't see the danger until it was too late. Between his inhuman strength and razor sharp claws, he moved from Yamanaka to Yamanaka with no hesitation, ending them before they had a chance to escape. In mere seconds, the last of them fell to the soil, food for the worms.

The sight of Naruto standing there, animalistic features on full display, dripping with gore and blood, surrounded by lifeless bodies, dealt a powerful blow to the morale of their enemies.

From his spot on the ground, Choji managed to turn the tide of his fight by sweeping Chozoma's legs out from under him, bring the other Akamichi noble to the ground. Following up, he swung his mace overhead to crush his enemy. Chozoma tried to bring his shield up to block, but black tendrils leapt up from his own shadow, binding him in place. With Shikamaru's help, Choji finished his maneuver without interruption.

At this point, the fight had all but been decided. The yellow eyed Nara could see this as clearly as anyone, and along with his two remaining kin, disengaged from Kakashi to regroup with the Akamichi who had been fighting with Sasuke. The giant woman was all too happy to have a break from the duel, and took some steps back as well.

The two sides eyed each other again, warily. As the participants of the different fights gathered back together, Sasuke cocked his eyebrow and the panting Naruto. "You half Inuzuka or something?"

Ino, exhausted from her mental battle, stumbled over. "I've never seen an Inuzuka do anything like that..." she eyed Naruto cautiously, not sure what to make of this development. The friendly, pleasant boy she had met before was now splattered in the innards of four of her clansmen.

Their interaction was cut short when Kakashi addressed the leader of the ambush. "Just so you know, the offer still stands. Let us pass, and we'll have no reason to continue this."

The man opposite him shook his head. "I thought it was overkill to send as many of us as we did. I miscalculated. Go ahead, there's nothing we can do to stop you."

His words didn't sit well with the Akamichi behind him. "What?! After what they just did?!" She made a wave to all of the bodies, the arm she used showing off some charred clothing. Sasuke's handy-work, no doubt.

Her large hand jabbed out, aggressively pointing at the blond boy. "That one needs to pay!"

"And wind up as another body on the ground? No. The Queen still has use for us, we aren't throwing our lives away here." Her boss said, surprisingly firm.

With that, the four survivors stepped aside, allowing the team of seven to pass.

As they walked away, Kakashi nodded to the yellow eyed man. "For both of our sakes, I hope we never meet again."

He received a nod back. "I hope so, yes.

With nothing more to be said, the two groups separated. But the aftermath of the exchange was by no means over. The whole while that they were mounting their bikes, as well as riding away, eyes were following Naruto. It was clear that very soon, some questions would need to be answered. And that was something that no one was looking forward to.

* * *

 **As always, please tell me what you thought! I hope that fight at the end didn't feel rushed, but it was never meant to be a long battle. Next chapter will have the explanation for his ability, and I should have that out be some time next week! Then with Naruto's history more established, I'll be free to move on to the other characters, like Sasuke and Sakura. So until, please feel free to leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


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